The Circus Comes To Town
by Failte
Summary: It takes a brave person to threaten the Voltron Force, but it takes an insane person to threaten one of their children. Part of my series. Complete!
1. New Red Sneakers And Ellyfants

Hi all!

Here is another story in my series, it falls between "Holiday on Arus" and "A Long Awaited Love Story", the children are all young. I came up with this idea and I was going to wait to post it, but, well, I am a very impatient person.

This story is a bit of a departure from my other stories, a little more suspense than romance, but with my warped sense of humor still making its mark. So, I hope you all enjoy it! 

Thanks!

Failte

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"Red shoes, red shoes."

Darcy looked down at her daughter and smiled as Schuyler did a little dance, singing a song about her new red sneakers. She clutched her small hand in hers, knowing that if she were to let go, Sky would have wandered off. It had happened before. She would see something that caught her attention and just go off to explore. The fact that her four year old daughter was so fearless and full of wanderlust gave Darcy reason to worry. Schuyler was just way too much like her father, which only endeared her to Darcy even more.

"Mommy?"

"What, Sky?" Darcy asked as they made their way down the main street of Alforia.

"I wanna show Daddy my new red shoes."

"Not now, honey, he's working. We'll show him tonight at the picnic."

"Can we go to da castle now?"

"We have to go buy the stuff we need to make Grandma's brownies and then we have to go home and bake them before we go to the castle."

Sky thought about this a moment, stopping her dance and just walking, "Can I lick da spoon?"

"Sure."

"Daddy's workin' with Uncle Keith."

"Yup.":

"An' Uncle Pidge an' Uncle Hunk."

"That's right."

"Daddy said I'm ready to start flyin' Red."

"He did, did he?"

"Uh huh, he said I could this weekend."

Darcy smiled. Lance got a kick out of taking their daughter up in his Lion and turning on the autopilot, letting her think she was actually flying Red. She knew it made Keith uneasy, not that Lance would ever let anything happen to Red, especially when Sky was with him, but the Commander was afraid he was treating his Lion like a toy.

"What's that music, Mommy?"

Darcy looked ahead and saw a crowd gathered along the side of the road, quick, playful music floating towards them. "I don't know, Sky, do you want to go explore?"

"Yeah!"

Swinging the little girl up onto her hip, Darcy walked over to the edge of the sidewalk and joined the rest of the townsfolk. She was greeted by a few people who recognized her as the wife of the second-in-command to the Voltron Force and a former member of the Force herself.

"What's going on?" Darcy asked the woman standing next to her.

"A parade," the lady told her. "A circus has come to Arus. It's the first time since before the wars with Doom."

"Circus," Sky repeated. "What's dat, Mommy?"

"It's so much fun, Sky, there are games and animals and clowns that make you laugh and acrobats doing tricks. You'll love it."

The music grew louder as the parade came closer. Two clowns led the way carrying a banner that read 'Muskerry Bros. Intergalactic Circus'. More clowns followed riding unicycles and other contraptions Darcy had never seen before, including a few hover vehicles. Men and women of various planet-nationalities were dressed in flashy, glittery outfits and did flips and cartwheels down the street. A band skipped and danced down next, playing every imaginable instrument and then some.

Schuyler bounced in Darcy's arms and clapped along with the music, laughing when a clown walked by on his hands.

But it was what came next that had Schuyler going ridged and gasping with excitement. "Mommy what's dat!"

"Those are elephants, Sky," Darcy whispered.

A line of five elephants, tail to trunk, passed them on the street. With huge, awe-filled eyes, Sky watched the large, gray animals thunder by, her hands clasped together as she whispered reverently, "Elly-fants."

The parade turned down the next street and began its return to the large field behind the University where they circus was setting up. Bringing up the rear of the parade were about half a dozen kids about ten to twelve years old, carrying scoopers to clean up after the elephants. Darcy felt bad seeing them with that job, but then they were probably the children of the performers and this was how they got their start in the circus, all the way at the bottom.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?" Darcy replied as they made their way to the grocery store.

"Can I have an elly-fant?"

"Um, well, sweetie, I don't think we have room for an elephant."

"He could sleep in da backyard."

"What about Chewy? I don't think he would like it if you got an elephant."

Sky twirled a lock of her hair while she thought about that. "No, Chewy wants an elly-fant too."

"Oh, he does?"

"Uh huh, dogs like elly-fants. They're friends."

"Well, we'll talk to Daddy about it, but I don't think we can get one."

……………………………………………………………………………..

"Are you going to run home and get Darcy and Sky?" Keith asked.

"Nah," Lance shook his head. "They're going to head up here as soon as their done baking the brownies."

"Oh, I love her brownies."

"Hey, that's my wife you're talking about!" Lance teased.

Keith rolled his eyes, "Keep your mind out of the gutter for ten minutes, would you?"

Pidge walked into Castle Control, "How's it going guys?"

"Good, all clear and we've finished our classes for the day," Keith told him. "Where's Hunk?" 

"We just finished setting up the tables out by the lake and now he's helping Nanny in hopes of getting some samples."

The door slid open and Schuyler skipped in followed by Darcy and Allura, who was cradling the youngest Whitaker, eleven month old Tess.

"There's my girl!" Lance crouched down to catch his daughter as she launched herself at him.

"Hi Daddy!" Schuyler hugged him tightly before holding her foot out for him to see. "Look, Daddy, red shoes!"

"Those are pretty cool, Shortstuff, where'd you get 'em?"

"Mommy and me went shopping."

"Oh yeah? What else did you get?"

"We saw elly-fants and cowns!"

"You did?" Lance looked up as Darcy, perplexed.

Taking pity on her husband, she kissed his cheek and whispered, "Elephants and clowns."

"Oh that's right!" He smacked his forehead with the heel of his palm. "I completely forgot the circus was coming. What do you think, Sky, should we go to the circus?"

"Can I see da elly-fants?"

"Sure."

"Mommy got me a book all about da circus! It shows people riding elly-fants, can I ride an elly-fant?"

"We'll see."

The door slid open and Becca walked in.

"Aun' Becca!" Schuyler squealed, wiggling out of her father's grasp and running over to show her aunt her new shoes.

"Someone has had a big day," Lance whispered to Darcy.

"She hasn't stopped talking about elephants all day," she smiled. "It looks like we're raising a little Republican."

Allura laughed as Keith took Tess from her, "It has been over a decade since a circus of any kind has come to Arus. I was so excited to see that Muskerry Brothers was touring. I agreed to let them come right away."

"Mommy!"

"Sky!" Darcy replied, mocking her daughter's enthusiasm.

"Aun' Becca says dat Cady and da boys are outside with Nanny an' Uncle Hunk, can I go too?"

"I don't know, did you say hi to Aunt Allura, Uncle Keith, and Uncle Pidge?"

"No."

"Sky, where are your manners?"

"An elly-fant ate 'em."

Darcy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing (Lance wasn't so successful, turning away to laugh), "Schuyler."

The little girl went to each of the adults and greeted them with a hug. "Can I go now?"

"Alright, but you listen to Nanny, young lady."

"Yes, Mommy," she turned to run from the room, but quickly turned back. "I need my circus book."

Darcy slid the small, pink backpack that held all the things Schuyler just _had _to bring with her off her shoulder and handed it to her daughter who ran from the room at full speed. She turned back to her husband, "Real good Lance."

"Oh come on! Her manners were eaten by an elephant? That was great!" He laughed.

Keith chuckled, "It was pretty quick."

"What can I say," Lance stood a little taller and puffed out his chest. "I have one smart, witty daughter."

"She really takes after her mother," Becca added.

He slid his arm around Darcy's shoulders and gave her a kiss, "I can't argue with that."

"Come on," Becca took Pidge's hand. "I am starving and Nanny said dinner should be set out by the time we get out to the picnic tables."

…………………………………………………………………….

About three hours later, the sun was starting to set and Arusian firebugs were dotting the night air with their blinking, blue backsides. Cady, Sky, Declan, and Gideon were running around, trying to capture as many as they could and hurrying back to put them in the jar Hunk had found and punched holes into the lid.

Allura sat back on an Adirondack chair beside Paton, Hunk's wife, chatting and watched as Keith held Tess's hands and helped her toddle around the grass. Pidge sat back against a tree with Becca sitting between his legs, her head resting against his chest as she turned and talked to her sister who was sitting beside them with Lance lying on the ground, his head on Darcy's lap, his eyes closed. Hunk rejoined the group, one of Darcy's brownies in his hand and another jar for firebugs in his other.

"So you guys are going to take Sky to the circus?" Becca asked.

Darcy nodded, "Probably tomorrow night. I have an early class and Lance should be done with work early."

"How're your classes going?"

Darcy grinned, happy with her job as a teacher for the Arusian military, teaching flight instruction and some military tactics to the cadets before they moved on to more training. She only taught three times a week, giving her plenty of time with Sky, who got to play at the castle with Cady and the twins while she was teaching. "Good, I have a great group of students right now, no one scoring below 77%. How're things going with Dr. Gorma?"

"Great, he is going to make me a full fledged partner in the castle hospital as opposed to a subordinate. He said he's really pleased with my work."

"That's great! I knew you would do well. When will you take over for him?"

"Well, he isn't quite ready yet, so I'll continue to assist him until then."

Darcy lowered her voice and leaned closer to her sister, "So you're happy here?"

Becca smiled, "Very."

Darcy's next question was stopped when there was a thump and the sound of Schuyler crying.

Lance's eyes flew open and he sat up, disoriented. "Wha's goin' on?"

Darcy pushed herself up and hurried over to where Sky was sitting on the ground, clutching her leg and howling like a banshee. "What happened?"

"I fall down!" She wailed.

"She tripped over a rock," Cady explained.

Lance crouched down beside her, "Let me see, Sky."

Her pants were torn and her knee was skinned, but there was hardly a drop of blood. It was nothing that deserved the amount of sound coming out of the little girl.

"Sky, stop screaming," Darcy said, running her hand over her silky, dark head.

"Do you want me to kiss and make it all better?" Lance asked.

Sky shook her head and wiped her nose on the back of her hand, "It won't work, Daddy, your kisses aren't magic."

Chuckles and giggles surrounded them as everyone heard his daughter's response.

"Come on, Sky," Becca picked her niece up. "I'll take you to the hospital and get you cleaned up, okay?"

Sky nodded, "I think I broke it."

"I don't think it's that bad, but you might need a band-aid."

The little girl's face lit up, "Yeah, I do."

"But if I can give you some auntly advice, sweetie, never tell a man his kisses aren't magic, okay?"

Sky nodded, not understanding what she meant, but loving the attention.

"Will Sky be okay?" Declan asked his mother worriedly.

"She'll be fine, honey," Allura assured him. "You guys just need to be more careful and watch where you're going." 

"Man," Keith slung an arm around Lance's shoulder. "Shot down by your own daughter. That's gotta hurt."

With a smile, Darcy kissed her husband, "That seemed pretty magical to me, babe."

"We got, like, a hundred firebugs, Dad!" Gideon held up a jar where a dozen insects flew around.

"Wow, what are you going to do with all of those?" Keith asked.

"I'm gonna put 'em in our room so we can see with the lights off."

"It's getting late kiddos," Keith told his brood.

"No," Cady whined. "It's too early for bed." 

"Alright, but you guys need to calm down a bit."

"Show us the stars, Daddy."

"Alright, come over here, away from the trees." Keith handed Tess over to Allura and led the other three over toward the meadow. He laid on the grass, Cady laid on his right, her head on his shoulder, and the twins laid on his left, resting their heads on his stomach. He studied the sky a moment before pointing out constellations and far off planets.

Allura cradled her baby daughter against her shoulder and carried her back over to the chair she had just vacated, rubbing Tess's back. "What time is it?"

"It's just after eight," Pidge told her, checking his watch.

"Already? Where did the day go?"

"Yeah, we'll have to head home when Sky is done sucking as much sympathy as she can from her aunt," Darcy said.

"Our little drama queen," Lance sighed.

"That she gets from her father," Hunk said.

"Hey, just because I have a flair for dramatics doesn't necessarily mean I'm a drama queen," Lance said, sitting back against a tree.

"Yeah it does," Pidge corrected.

"Here comes the poor injured child now," Paton said with a smile.

They all watched as Schuyler walked toward them with an exaggerated limp, the large, bright orange bandage on her knee was visible from halfway across the yard. Becca was right behind her, her hands in her pockets and a small smile on her lips. 

"How are you doing, baby," Darcy asked.

"It hurts," Sky spoke with a practiced quiver in her voice.

"Does it hurt too much to go to the circus tomorrow?" 

"No, it'll be okay by then."

"We don't want the elephants to hurt your knee," Lance told her.

Schuyler sighed dramatically and fell back on her father's lap, causing him to tense and make a noise halfway between a groan and a squeak. Hunk and Pidge both groaned and crossed their legs in sympathy.

"Schuyler," Lance croaked as he shifted her on his lap. "What has Daddy told you about jumping on him like that?" 

"Um…don't do it?"

"That's right. So why did you do it?"

She laid her head on his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Daddy, I forgot."

"It's alright, honey," Darcy assured her. "You just landed where Daddy keeps his brain and now he's having trouble thinking straight."

Becca, Paton, and Allura laughed, earning scowls from the three men.

"Why does it seem like my manhood is being called into question this evening?" Lance asked.

Darcy smiled flirtatiously at him, "Because it is, sweetie."

"Are you okay, Sky?" Cady asked her friend.

"Yeah," Sky sighed. "But I hafta wear a band-aid for, like, a month."

Darcy looked at Becca who shook her head.

Keith made his way over with both boys on his back.

"Mommy!" Gideon shouted. "We saw Poll-x!" 

"That's where Aun' Romy and Uncle Sven and Uncle Bandor and Erik and Delora are!" Declan added.

"Wow," Allura gasped in awe. "That's great."

"I think we better head home, so Sky can rest her knee and we can go to the circus tomorrow," Darcy said, standing.

"Can we go to the circus tomorrow, too?" Cady asked her father.

"Not tomorrow, Cady Bear, but we can probably go the day after." 

Her lower lip began to quiver, "But I want to go tomorrow."

"We can't, Mommy has meetings and I have work to do. I promise we'll go the next night, unless you throw a tantrum and then we just won't go at all." Keith told her.

The little girl bit her lip to stop it from shaking and she nodded.

Lance crouched down so Schuyler could wrap her arms around his neck and she could get a piggyback ride home.

"This was fun," Darcy said, giving Allura a quick hug and kissing the top of Tess' head.

"It was," the Queen agreed. "And with the weather getting nicer, we should do it more often."

Paton joined them, "We can switch houses too. We can all meet at our house one night, then Lance and Darcy's another, and then the castle on another."

"That's a great idea!" Darcy exclaimed. "Next one we'll do at our house. We can officially christen the barbeque for the season."

Allura nodded, "I just love it when we can all get together for fun, not for work."

"Come on, Mommy," Schuyler reached out and tapped Darcy's shoulder.

"What's the hurry, Sky?"

"Daddy and I hafta take Chewy for a, uh, a walk an'…an' da sooner I go to sleep da sooner it'll be tomorrow an'…an' tomorrow is, um…is circus day!"

"Alright, you thank Aunt Allura and Uncle Keith for the picnic."

Sky blew a kiss to Allura, "I had fun Aun' Lura, even dough I falled down."

Smiling, Allura blew her a kiss back, "I'm glad you had fun, sweetie, even though you fell down, and next time you'll have to bring Chewy."

"Can I?" Sky gasped.

"Of course you can."

Ten minutes later, Darcy and Lance had gathered all of Sky's things and they were starting the hike home. Their house was only about a mile away from the castle and it was just too beautiful an evening to waste in a car. Securing his daughter with one arm, Lance laced his fingers through Darcy's with his other hand as they walked the familiar path along the road. They talked of work, plans for the next day and any other little thing that came to mind. After four years of marriage and one precocious daughter, they had settled into a happy existence together in what had quickly become the life they both wanted.


	2. A Day At The Circus

Hi all!

Thanks for the great reviews!

I guess you've been romanced out, huh? :-) I'll try and keep it to a minimum in this story.

I can't really answer any of your questions without giving too much away, I guess you'll just have to read it and see what happens!  
  
Enjoy,

Failte

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"Schuyler Grace Collier! You have two seconds to get down here or we will leave without you!" Darcy yelled from the bottom of the steps.

"No you won't!" Sky called back.

"Oh yes we will! And we'll call Nanny to come sit with you!"

The sound of little feet running followed by a door slamming was her response.

"Do you really need your cape?" Darcy asked her as the little girl ran down the steps, a red cape flying out behind her.

"Uh huh, in case I fall off da elly-fant."

"Sky, we don't know if they let people ride the elephants."

"Dey will."

Darcy looked up and saw Lance standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He shrugged. They had tried to stop Sky from getting her hopes up, but she insisted that she would be allowed to ride an elephant.

"I'm hungry," Sky whined as she held Darcy's hand and waited for Lance to lock the door.

"Just wait until we get to the circus," Lance promised her. "There will be cotton candy and candy apples and ice cream and popcorn and milkshakes and corndogs and anything else you could possibly imagine."

"I don't like corn, Daddy."

"No, no, no, my little girl," he swept her up onto his shoulders. "There is no corn in corndogs. I promise you, Gracie, you will not eat one healthy thing tonight."

"I wanna eat peanuts, dats what elly-fants eat."

"Then we will get you peanuts," Darcy told her. "But you have to promise me you'll have some ice cream too, it's important you get your dairy."

She giggled, "'Kay, Mommy."

"Now, Sky, I want to tell you something important before we get to the circus. Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"There are going to be a lot of people at the circus, so I want you to be holding hands with either Daddy or me all the time, okay?"

"'Kay."

"What did I just say?"

"I hafta hold your hand or Daddy's."

Darcy patted her leg, "Good girl, Sky."

As they drew closer to town, the number of people greatly increased. The boisterous crowd moved as one, heading to the large field behind the University. Loud, playful music wafted toward them, mixed with the excited voices of children, the shouts of barkers, and various animal sounds.

As the colorful tents came into view, Sky gripped Lance's hair in her hands and bounced excitedly on his shoulders.

"Careful there, Sky," Lance reached up and pried her fingers from his hair. "Daddy isn't ready to go bald yet."

"Where are da elly-fants!" She shouted

"I thought you were hungry, don't you want to get some food first?" Darcy asked her.

"I wanna get some peanuts so I can share wif da elly-fants!" 

"They might not let you feed the animals, sweetie."

"Dey will. I saw it in da book."

Lance glanced at his wife, "See what happens when you buy her books."

"What? She gets smart?"

Riding Lance's shoulders and with a bag of peanuts in one hand and a huge cone of blue cotton candy in the other, Schuyler tried to take everything in at once. The people, the noise, the colors, the animals. It was loud and bright and exciting. Her heart raced and her eyes tried to keep up with everything that passed her as she tried to point it all out to her parents, making sure they didn't miss a thing. She got a taste of Mommy's ice cream cone and Daddy's corndog. Because it was a special night Mommy even let her have her own soda _and_ a milkshake. Then Daddy threw three balls and knocked three clown heads off a shelf and won her a stuffed elephant, but it was too big for her to carry, so Daddy carried it while she held Mommy's hand. Then he knocked over three bottles and won her a stuffed tiger. Then Mommy shot three plastic ducks with a toy gun and won a teddy bear and then she popped three balloons with darts and won a stuffed frog. But the best part was when Sky threw a plastic ball into fishbowl and, much to Mommy's chagrin, won her very own goldfish.

Hopped up on sugar and caffeine, Sky was having the time of her life. Still clutching her bag of peanuts, she skipped along, her fingers curled around Darcy's as they approached the big tent to see the main show. Sitting between her parents with her new elephant, who she named Lucy, beside her, she watched the acrobats swing across the sky and perform death-defying flips. An excited scream flew from her mouth as watched a lady in a gold, sparkly leotard seemingly fall ten feet before being caught by a man in a silver sparkly jumpsuit who was hanging upside down on a bar.

Darcy looked over Sky's head and met Lance's eye. He winked, smiling at their daughter's reaction to all the excitement around them. She laughed hysterically at the antics of the clowns and gasped when a man stuck his head in a lion's mouth.

"Where are da elly-fants?" Sky whispered.

"I'm sure they're coming up soon, honey," Darcy assured her.

A trumpet sounded and a single spotlight shone down on the main ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The ringleader called from his spot in the middle of the ring. "May I now present to you, Lady Paliah and her practically perfect pachyderms!" 

"Here they come," Darcy whispered into Sky's ear.

It seemed like the whole tent shook as an elephant trumpeted, announcing their arrival. Sky's mouth fell open as the five elephants walked in, all of them wearing tall, feathered caps. A beautiful woman with lavender hair and silver skin rode on the first elephant. All five circled around and stopped when the first one rose up on its hind legs, each one following suit and resting their front feet on the elephant in front of them, forming a circle. The crowd cheered and applauded, stomping their feet.

The woman, Paliah, clapped her hands and called out in a foreign language. One by one, the elephants lowered their legs and lined up, bending their front knees and lowering their heads as though they were bowing to the audience. Paliah slid off the back of her elephant and walked in front of them, her arms raised, as the crowd cheered. Schuyler was clapping the loudest and the hardest.

But the best part of the entire night was ten minutes after the show ended, the tents were opened so kids could come in and meet the animals. Most of the children were amazed by the lions and tigers, others liked the more exotic animals, like the floxins, animals resembling dogs with an eagle's head or the loopers, round three headed rabbit like creatures that jumped in circles. But a handful of kids made their way over to the elephants. Sky's eyes widened and her mouth fell open, she almost dropped the bag holding her goldfish, Frankie, on the ground.

"Do you have any questions about the elephants?" Paliah asked kindly, standing between her massive animals and the gathered crowd.

Questions came from all directions.

"Do they really eat peanuts?" 

"Do they sleep standing up?"

"How much do they weigh?"

"How tall are they?"

"Do they eat people?"

Laughing a bell-like, tinkling laugh, Paliah answered all their questions to the best of her ability. Her eyes rested on a pretty little dark haired girl wearing a red cape and clutching a clear bag with a fish in it, holding her father's hand and staring up at the elephants in awe.

"What about you, little girl, do you have a question?" 

Lance squeezed Sky's hand, "Do you have a question, Sky?"

"Can…can I ride him?" She whispered.

"Yeah!" At least a dozen other children shouted in agreement.

"Well, my babies here don't like to have strangers ride them, but if you go out back, you can ride one of our other elephants for ten dollars."

Sky looked up at her father expectedly. Of course he couldn't deny her.

"Thank Paliah for answering your question," he said.  
  
"Thank you, Pally, I really really really really like your elly-phants," Sky said solemnly.

"You're welcome, Sky," the lady replied.

Darcy smiled, "Thank you, Paliah."

Back behind the tent was a small crowd of people gathered around a platform that rose high above them, the same height as an elephant. Clowns ran around, entertaining the people who were waiting for their turn.

"Where is it?" Schuyler asked, standing on her toes.

"It's coming," Lance told her. "You get to ride it all around the field."

"I wanna see, Daddy," she held her arms up to him.

Lance handed Lucy to Darcy and picked his daughter up so she could see the massive animal over the tops of everyone's heads. The elephant was a little older than the ones Paliah worked with. A large, woven blanket covered its back with a big, box shaped seat with high sides on top.

A woman stood on the platform helping people onto and off of the elephant, another woman rode with the passengers and a man lead the elephant around the paddock.

"Excuse me."

Lance turned to see a man and his son standing beside him. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, but aren't you Lt. Collier with the Voltron Force?"

"Uh, yeah, I am."

"Could I get my son's picture with you, please? He's a huge fan."

Turning to Darcy, Lance rolled his eyes and set Sky on the ground next to her. It wasn't that he minded when people recognized him or appreciated what he did. Lance dealt with his celebrity better than Pidge did, but not in the dignified manner Keith did or the laid back way Hunk did. But it was when he was out with his family that he didn't want to have to put up with autograph hounds. He and Darcy wanted Sky to have as normal a life as possible, but as the daughter of two Voltron pilots, one being the second-in-command, she sometimes found herself thrust into the limelight. She wasn't a shy girl, which was good, but she was also overly curious and fearless, which wasn't always a good thing.

Sky took Lucy from her mother and tugged on her trunk, whispering secrets into her big ear while Darcy stood over her, cradling the loot they had won throughout the evening.

"What's your name?" Lance asked the young boy.

"Dentro," he told him, his eyes wide.

"Well, Dentro, it's nice to meet you, I'm Lance," he shook the boy's hand.

"I wanna fly when I get older," Dentro announced.

Lance sized him up, "Well, you do look like a strapping young man. How old are you?" 

"I'm eight and a half."

"Then in ten years you come and see me and I'll see about getting you into the Arusian Air Brigade, okay?"

"Yes sir!"

Lance knelt beside the boy and allowed his father to snap a picture. After shaking hands and waving off the man's gratitude, he turned back to his wife and daughter. "Do you think if I grew a mustache, people would stop recognizing me?"

"Oh stop it," Darcy sighed. "You enjoy the attention and besides, if you grew a mustache, I wouldn't kiss you."

"Oh, like you could resist me."

"You are so full of yourself, _you_ are the one who can't resist _me_."

Their playful flirting was interrupted by Sky tugging on Darcy's shirt and whimpering, "Mommy?"

Winking at Lance, she looked down, "What is it, sweetheart?"

Sky whimpered again and turned to bury her face in her mother's leg.

Lance looked up and saw what was frightening his daughter. He pried her off Darcy's leg and picked her up, "It's just a clown, Sky, see, he's funny."

She shook her head and buried her face in his shoulder.

"Sky," Darcy stroked her back. "I thought you liked clowns."

"Not too close," she whispered.

"Ah," Darcy smiled weakly at the clown who was still trying to get Sky's attention. "Thanks, but she's not a big fan of clowns."

The clown pretended to wipe a tear away, shook his head, waved cheerfully and did a cartwheel away.

"Next!"

"That's us," Lance whispered in Schuyler's ear. "Ready to ride the elephant?"

She lifted her head and wiped her nose, nodding.

"A child that young must ride with a parent," the woman on the platform said.  
  
"I got it," Lance told Darcy, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

She smiled knowing Lance was just as excited as their daughter was to ride the giant animal. 

The woman took his money and explained how they were to behave while riding the elephant. Lance climbed on first and then helped Sky up, sitting her in front of him.

Sky shrieked with excitement as the behemoth creature moved beneath her, "Mommy! I ridin' an elly-fant!"

A few people chuckled as Darcy waved at her, "I see you, Sky!"

Lance wrapped his arms around his daughter as she tried to stand. She clapped her hands and watched the elephant raise his trunk into the air. The ride itself only lasted about two minutes, but it was apparently the highlight of Schuyler's short life so far.

The sun had set and after spending over two hours at the circus, Lance and Darcy decided it was time to head home. Darcy held Schuyler, who lay limply against her, dozing off as the excitement of the night had worn down her sugar high. Lance was in charge of carrying home the zoo of animals they had accumulated.

"She's going to sleep like a log tonight," Darcy commented as Sky turned her head and sighed.

Lance wiggled his eyebrows at her, "So you think we might be able to have a little fun?"

"I don't know," she teased. "I am awfully tired after all we did tonight."

"You won't have to do much, you could just lie there."

She laughed, "You are nothing more than a depraved, wanton scoundrel."

"Oh you know it makes me hot when you use big words."

"Just my speaking makes you hot."

"It doesn't even take that much, baby," he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

………………………………………………………………………….

"Mommy?" Schuyler whispered sleepily as Darcy changed her into her pajamas.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"I ride an elly-fant."

"Yes you did, I took a picture of you." 

"You did?"

"Yup. We'll get it developed and then we can go into town and you can pick out a special frame for it, okay?"

"'Kay."

Darcy kissed her forehead and tucked her into bed, "Sweet dreams, my Sky. Tomorrow we go to the castle and you can tell Cady and the boys all about it."

"Can I take Lucy?"

"Sure."

"Good night, Mommy."

"Good night." Darcy shut off the light, leaving the door open a crack she made her way downstairs.

"I thought we could use this until we get to the pet store," Lance told her as she walked into the kitchen. Sky's new fish, Frankie, was happily swimming in a vase.

"We shouldn't have let her win that."

"Why? What do you have against fish?" He asked, scratching Chewy's head.

Darcy shook her head as she put water on to boil for tea, "Nothing. I just don't like circus fish. He's going to be dead within three days, then what? She's going to be devastated."

"Then we'll get her a new one. Can I be the one to tell your mother that Sky named her elephant after her?"

"Sky is a little girl, she doesn't know a lot of names. She named her elephant after her grandmother as a compliment, not an insult." She picked up her briefcase from beside the door. "I have to grade some tests, you don't have to wait up for me."

"Can't it wait?" He whined.

"No, I promised my students I would have it back to them tomorrow, I only have about seven more to do."

"Fine," Lance sighed dramatically. "I'm going upstairs, I'll try and stay awake, but I can't promise anything."

She kissed him, "Give me twenty minutes."

In reality, it had taken her thirty minutes. Darcy entered their bedroom to find Lance lying in bed watching the televiewer with Chewy sprawled out next to him.

"Chewy, get down," Darcy commanded as she dug in her dresser drawer for a nightshirt.

"You lost your chance," Lance told her. "You said twenty minutes, it took half an hour, so you lost your side of the bed to the dog."

She disappeared into the bathroom to wash her face and get ready for bed. When she reentered the bedroom, Chewy was still lying on the bed. Shaking her head, she walked over, grabbed him by his collar and pulled. The big, golden mutt didn't even budge. "Lance."

"Chewy, down," he said it almost lazily.

As slowly as he could, Chewy stood and stretched and shook before walking slowly to the foot of the bed and lying down.

"Lance."

"All the way down, Chewy."

With a thump, the dog jumped to the floor and walked over to his bed to curl up for the night.

"So you'd rather share the bed with the dog than me?" She asked, pulling the covers back.

He shrugged, "He was keeping me warm when you weren't here."

Darcy snuggled up to him, kissing his neck and stroking his chest, "In the same way I keep you warm?"

"Uh, no, not really," Lance's voice was a little higher.

She straddled his waist, "No one comes between me and my man."

He reached up and wove his fingers through her hair, bringing her mouth down to his. The rest of the world melted away as Lance rolled over and pinned her under him. "I love you," he murmured against her lips.  
  
"I love you too," she gasped as his hands moved up beneath her nightshirt.

A scream tore through the air and they jumped apart.

"What was that?" Lance asked, sitting upright.

"Schuyler," Darcy replied as another scream sounded down the hall. She pushed the blankets off and got out of bed as Chewy ran to their door, scratching and barking.

The door had barely opened when Sky ran full force into the room, screaming and sobbing hysterically. She threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms tightly around Darcy's neck, soaking her shoulder with her tears.

Chewy tore from the room, barking.

"Shh, shh, shh," Darcy rubbed her back. "Calm down, Sky. What happened? Did you have a bad dream?"

Sky shook her head.

"Stop crying, baby, and tell Mommy what happened."

"A cown!" She sobbed into Darcy's shoulder.

"A clown?" 

Sky nodded.

"You had a bad dream about a clown?"

"No! A cown, in da window!"

"You saw a clown in your window?"

Sky nodded again.

Darcy hugged her tightly, "Oh sweetie, there is no clown outside your window."

Sky sat back and glared at her mother with red, swollen eyes, "Yes dere was! It was lookin' in at me and den it smiled!"

"No clowns followed us home," Lance assured her, sitting down beside them on the bed.

"He's out dere!" She insisted.

Darcy looked at Lance and nodded toward the door. He rolled his eyes but stood and put his shoes on.

"Daddy is going to make sure there is no clown outside, okay?" Darcy said. 

Sky sniffed and nodded, laying her head on her mother's shoulder.

Lance first checked Sky's room. Her bright red, yellow, and blue comforter was thrown back in her haste to get out. Lucy lay on the floor. He crossed to the window opposite her bed and looked out. It was a clear night with one and a half of the three Arusian moons shining down and stars twinkling across the sky. A slight breeze ruffled the tree tops, but there was no other movement. He crossed to the other window and saw almost the same image, except that the Castle of Lions was visible from this side. 

When Lance had had this house built, he had taken every security caution possible. Including windows made of blaster proof glass, but could be opened in an emergency with the flick of a switch. The doors were double thick metal covered by a sheet of wood finished paneling so they didn't look like a fortress. A state of the art security system, including motion detector lights, combined with the knowledge that both he and his wife were trained soldiers, both of whom have served with Voltron Force, helped him sleep easy at night. It was nearly impossible to get into their home without their knowing or inviting you.

Noticing that Chewy wasn't with him, Lance walked out into the hall and heard a scratching noise. Jogging quietly down the steps, he quickly scanned the living room and dining room before sticking his head in the office he and Darcy shared. Not finding the dog, Lance walked into the last room on the first floor, their spacious kitchen. Chewy was standing with his nose pressed to the crack at the bottom of the door sniffing hard, stopping occasionally to scratch at the door.

For the most part, Chewy seemed to be a waste of space. He was an oversized, goofy load of long, golden fur who spent most of his time curled up on the floor, except for the two walks a day Lance and Sky took him on, or when he was eating all the food within his reach. He got along with everyone, friend or stranger. They had gotten him as a Christmas present from Keith and Allura when Sky was about ten months old, so the two of them were growing up together. Because of this, Chewy was fiercely protective of Sky and if he ever thought someone or something was threatening the little girl, that dog was the first to come to her aid. Even if it was Lance or Darcy trying to discipline her, that dog would stand between them. 

"Someone out there, Chewy?" Lance asked.

The dog lifted his head and growled in response.

The hair on the back of Lance's neck rose. He went to the front closet and took down the lock box off the top shelf. Taking out his blaster and turning off the safety, he crept back to the kitchen and looked out the window. Not seeing any movement, he quietly unlocked the door and eased it open. A cool breeze swept over him and a chill, unrelated to the weather, raced down his spine. His trained eyes scanned the backyard, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, but sensing something.

Chewy stood on the back stoop and growled.

Lance stepped back and laid a hand on the dog's head, "What is it, boy?"

Very slowly, the dog stepped down onto the grass, his nose in the air, sniffing. After a moment, he turned back to Lance, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

"All clear, Chewy?"

In response, Chewy bounded up the stoop and into the kitchen, stopping by the cupboard that he knew held his treats.

With one last glance around the yard, Lance returned to the house, locking the door behind him. After rewarding Chewy with a treat, returning his weapon to its hiding place and making sure all the doors were locked and the alarm was on, he made his way up the stairs. Darcy was reclining back on their bed with Schuyler curled up next to her in the curve of her arm, her head on her mother's shoulder. They were both tucked under the covers as Darcy told Sky her favorite story of the time Winnie the Pooh ate too much honey and got stuck in Rabbit's hole.

Sky lifted her tired eyes when he entered the room, "Did you find it?"

Lance shook his head, "Nope, no clown, no one anywhere. It's all safe. You ready to go back to bed?"

The little girl whimpered and clung to Darcy's nightshirt, tears falling from her eyes.

"It's okay," Darcy kissed the top of her head. "You can stay here for now."

It was Lance who whimpered this time as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his shoes off.

"I nee mer bumels," Sky murmured into Darcy's shoulder.

"Daddy'll get him," her mother assured her. 

"Daddy'll get who?" Lance asked.

"She needs Mr. Bumbles."

He rolled his eyes and stood, "Anything else?"

"My blankie," the little girl whispered.

When Lance returned to his bedroom with Sky's blanket and the stuffed mouse Darcy's parents had given her when she was born, he found that between his wife, his daughter, and the dog, there was very little room for him on the bed.

"Chewy, get down," he sighed.

"She's just about asleep," Darcy whispered, tucking Mr. Bumbles beside the little girl and laying her blanket over her.

"I can sneak her back into her room," he whispered back.

"Nooooo," Sky whimpered quietly, clutching her mouse.

Darcy smiled weakly at him.

Lance was tempted to tell her about the bad feeling he had had outside, but not in front of Sky. This was the first time he had ever seen his little girl scared. This was the child that they had to stop from walking up to strange dogs or picking up snakes in the woods. She had never wanted a nightlight in her room or been afraid of thunder, and when Cady told her the west tower of the castle was haunted, Sky had marched right up there in the excited hope of seeing a ghost. But now she was curled up between them, terrified to go back to her own bedroom. Something was going on, he just had to figure out what it was.

Realizing that the moment with his wife had passed and he wasn't going to get it back tonight, Lance stretched out beside them and tried to get some sleep.


	3. Absolutely Terrified

"You alright, man?"

Lance looked up at Keith as he rubbed at the cramp in his neck. The Force had just left the morning meeting and gone their separate ways. Hunk had a class in mechanics to teach while Pidge was going to the hospital wing to install a computer in Becca's new office. Keith and Lance were heading to Castle Control to go over a few things before Keith had to go to a meeting and Lance had to take a crew of cadets up for practice in the planes.

"Yeah. Sky had a nightmare last night and slept with us. I woke up halfway off the bed and with her foot pushing my head to the side, so I have a hell of a kink in my neck."

Keith chuckled, "Just when we thought we were done with those days, we go and have another kid, so we're still up all night."

"I don't know how you guys do it with four kids when we're run down with just one."

"Patience, love and alcohol, lots of it."

Lance snorted.

"What was the nightmare about?"

"Clowns."

Keith punched in the code to open the door to the control room, "Clowns?"

Lance nodded, "Clowns. She woke up screaming and crying. She wouldn't let go of Darcy, so she ended up sleeping with us. How do you guys deal with this?"

"I usually take whoever it is back to bed after they fall asleep. It's a real pain when the twins have a nightmare. I swear, they must have the same dreams every night, so when one comes to our room in tears, the other is right behind him."

"I guess it's a good thing you guys have that huge bed."

"Yeah," Keith nodded. "So the whole circus thing backfired?"

"She had a blast at the circus, she got to ride an elephant and we won tons of stuff. She didn't like the clowns close up, but from a ways, she was fine." Lance lowered his voice. "You'll probably think I'm strange, but I had a real weird feeling last night."

Keith furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?" 

"Well, Chewy was barking and scratching at the door and I just felt like something was…off. So I got my weapon and we went out back. I don't know how to explain it, but something weird was going on. The dog was acting strange and I felt the hair rise on the back of my neck."

"You think there really was someone out there?"

"I don't know, I mean Sky's room is on the second floor, they would have needed a ladder or something and they couldn't move that fast if they were carrying a ladder. I would have seen something."

"We're taking the kids tonight, they offered us a behind the scenes look, part of the perks of being royalty, I'll see if I notice anything out of the ordinary. Any idea of what the clown looked like?"

Lance shrugged, "No, there were at least two dozen clowns there."

"Alright, I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Thanks, man, I appreciate that."

The door slid open and Darcy walked in looking exhausted. "Good morning."

"You look like hell," Lance commented.

She scowled at him, "That's not what a woman likes to hear, _honey_."

"I meant it in the nicest possible way, _sweetheart_. Where's Sky?"

"I just left her with Nanny. She was too afraid to go into her room this morning, so I had to get her clothes and she changed in our room." She crossed over to Lance and laid her head on his shoulder. "I think I got three hours of sleep last night, she kept kicking me."

"I got a kink in my neck that will make it hard for me to fly today."

"It will not."

"Children, do I need to separate you two?" Keith asked, a smile on his face.

"I'm going," Darcy sighed. "Class starts in fifteen minutes." She turned to her husband, "I just wanted to let you know Sky and I are going to head straight home after my class, I think we're both going to need a nap."

"Sounds good, I'll go into town and bring home something for dinner."

"Thank you, sweetie," she kissed his cheek. "We'll see you tonight."

"Have fun in class," Lance teased, patting her backside as she walked away.

"See you later, Keith," Darcy called over her shoulder.

"Later, Professor," he called back.

The old barracks on the far corner of the castle grounds had been converted into classrooms and training rooms. It was a five minute jog out to the barracks, which gave Darcy ten minutes to check on Schuyler. She was worried about her daughter. Darcy knew it was perfectly normal for children to have fears and clowns were not an uncommon fear, but she had never seen Sky like this. She had never felt the little girl shake like that or cling to her, even in sleep.

Jogging up the stairs, Darcy heard Schuyler scream at the top of her lungs before she saw her. With her heart in her throat, she rounded the corner and saw her daughter standing in the hallway with Allura crouching beside her, trying to calm the little girl.

"What happened?" Darcy asked.

Allura stood as Sky ran over and wrapped her arms around her mother's legs. "The circus decided to send a welcoming committee to the castle. I didn't know she was afraid of clowns."

"We just found that out ourselves," Darcy told her, crouching down in front of the little girl. "It's alright, Sky, the clowns won't hurt you."

"I wanna go home," she sniffled.

"We can't, sweetie, I have a class to teach and Daddy has work to do."

"Can I come to class with you?"

Darcy considered this a moment. She could set Sky up at a desk in the back with paper and crayons, she could be quite well behaved when she tried, especially if she was bribed with ice cream. She looked up at her daughter when she heard the girl gasp. Schuyler began to shake and tears ran down her face.

"Sky…" Darcy broke off when she noticed a dark spot appear on Sky's pants as she wet herself out of pure fear. Looking over her shoulder, Darcy noticed a clown standing there holding a balloon.

Allura carefully directed the clown back into the nursery.

"It's okay, baby, he won't hurt you," Darcy whispered, hugging her daughter tightly.

"Dat…dat…w-was da c-clown in my w-window." Sky sobbed into her mother's neck.

"That was the clown you saw?"

Sky nodded.

"Is everything alright?"

Darcy looked up to see her sister, "Hey, Bec, can we use your bathroom and get cleaned up."

"Of course, come on."

"Darcy," Allura hurried from the nursery. "Are you guys alright? Can I do anything?"

"Could we borrow a clean pair of clothes? I'm taking her to Becca's room to get her cleaned up."

"No problem, I'll find you something in Cady's closet."

"I don't wanna wear a dress," Sky whined.

"Schuyler," Darcy warned.

Allura smiled, "I'll see what I can find."

Sky still had her face buried in Darcy's neck as they made their way to Becca's room, afraid to lift her head in case another clown appeared. Darcy pulled her communicator from her belt and dialed up Keith.

"Whitaker."

"Hey, Keith, I have a huge favor to ask you."

"What is it, Darc?"

"Can you get someone to substitute for me, just for my class today?"

"Is everything alright?" He asked, worriedly.

"A little incident with Sky, I'll explain later." 

"Yeah, okay, I can get Pidge to cover for you."

"Thanks. Tell him my lesson plan is in the middle drawer of the desk, it's dated and easy to follow."

"No problem, Darcy."

"Thanks, Keith, I really appreciate this." She disconnected and reattached the device to her belt. "Sky?" Darcy whispered into her daughter's ear.

"Wha'?"

"Do you want to take a bath in Aunt Becca's tub?"

Sky lifted her head and looked around her Aunt's cheerful room, "Does Aun' Becca have bubbles?"

Darcy rolled her eyes at her sister, "You can take one bath without bubbles."

The little girl shook her head as her mother set her down in the bathroom, "You don't get all the way clean without bubbles."

Becca spoke up as she started running water in the tub, "I can go and see if Cady has any bubble bath."

"Thanks," Darcy smiled at her and turned back to her daughter. "Hands up, my Sky."

Schuyler lifted her hands above her head so her mother could pull her shirt off. By the time she was completely stripped, Becca had returned with a pink bottle and half a dozen little plastic ships.

"I raided the twins' bathroom too," she explained as she dumped a liberal amount of strawberry scented bubble bath into the bathwater and dropped the boats in.

Darcy lifted her daughter into the tub and watched as she quickly forgot all about clowns and went about sinking the ships and giving herself bubble beards.

"You alright?" Becca whispered.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine thanks," Darcy looked down at her shirt, noticing a spot. "Well, can I borrow a t-shirt?"

"Yeah."

Darcy followed her sister to the doorway separating her bedroom from the bathroom, staying where she could see Sky.

"Feel free to help yourself to anything you need," Becca said as she reached into her drawer and randomly grabbed a shirt, throwing it to her sister.

"Thanks, Bec, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, Darc. Just remember this someday when Pidge and I ask you to baby sit."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Darcy looked down at the shirt she was holding and rolled her eyes. "Do you have another shirt?"

Becca looked up to see Darcy holding up her light green ringer t-shirt with the words _Green Is The Color Of Love_ printed across it. She laughed, "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to what I pulled out. Pidge got me that as a joke, he found it in some online store."

Darcy rolled her eyes and threw the shirt back at her, "You guys make me sick."

Becca tossed her a gray shirt with Mickey Mouse on it, "Aw, has someone lost the romance in her marriage?"

"Hardly," Darcy pulled the shirt over her head. "Is that why you haven't tied the knot yet?"

Becca looked down at the engagement ring that had held residence on the third finger of her left hand for just over three years, "No. I just wanted to finish all my training before we got married. I want to be able to concentrate fully on our relationship when we get married."

"Becs, this job is permanent, that isn't going to change after you get married," Darcy glanced over her shoulder to see Sky gleefully sinking another plastic ship.

"I know."

"Then what's the holdup?"

Becca shrugged, "I don't know, I guess I'm just not ready to make it official."

"You're not making any sense, you guys are practically living as a married couple now."

"I know…I just," she sighed. "We'll get married when we're ready."

Darcy lowered her voice, "Is everything alright, Rebecca?"

"Yeah, everything is great. I love Pidge, he loves me and we both want to get married. Just in our own time."

Darcy was about to respond when she heard her daughter calling for her. "Yeah, sweetie, what is it?"

Sky waved her over, "Come 'ere."

She knelt down beside the tub and smiled at her bubble covered little girl. "What?"

"You're, uh, you're not gonna tell anyone I had a…a accident, are you?"

Smiling, Darcy ran her hand over Sky's damp hair, "No, I won't, baby, don't worry."

"It was a accident."

"I know, no one is mad, Sky."

"Hello," Allura called out as she walked into Becca's bathroom carrying some clothes. "I thought about what you said, Sky, so I didn't bring a dress. I found these and I think they'll fit." She held up a pair of jeans and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers shirt. Even though they didn't live on Terra, Keith was determined to raise his children as all Buccaneers fans.

"Thank you, Allura," Darcy stood. "Thanks for all your help."

"Your welcome, it's no problem at all."

"Ready to get out?" Darcy asked Sky.

"My fingers aren't wrinkled yet."

"_Super Action Squad_ is about to start," Darcy said, bribing her with her favorite cartoon.

"'Kay," Sky pushed down the lever that released the water.

"Do you need anything else?" Allura asked as Darcy wrapped the little girl in a thick towel.

"No, thank you, Allura, I think Sky is going to lay down until lunch time, then we'll head home." She stood as Sky started pulling her clothes on and walked with Allura into the bedroom. "Have the clowns gone?"

"Yeah, they just left," Allura reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. "I don't think you'll want them, but they gave me these free tickets to give you as a sort of apology for scaring Sky."

"That was nice of them, but we won't be returning any time soon. Give them to Becca, she and Pidge can go."

"Mommy?"

Darcy turned to see Sky standing in the doorway, "What's up, sweetheart?"

"I can't close da button," she replied, walking over to her mother.

"I think you should lie down on Aunt Becca's bed to watch your show," Darcy said as she fastened the jeans. "I want you to rest."

"'Kay," Sky clambered up on the bed and burrowed under the beige comforter covered with columns of cabbage roses. "_Super Action Squad_, Mommy."

Allura touched Darcy's arm, "You know where everything is if you need anything."

"Thanks Allura."

"And I have to go see if Pidge finished setting up the computer in my office," Becca leaned over and kissed her niece on the forehead. "Be good, little Sky."

"I will."

"Schuyler," Darcy said with a warning tone.

"Oh, uh, thank you Aun' Becca an' Aun' 'Lura."

Darcy shut the door and closed the blinds, making the room dim and cool. She picked up the remote to the televiewer and turned it on, stretching out on the bed beside her daughter.

This was how Lance found them over half an hour later. He crept over to the bed and gently shook Darcy's shoulder. Before he could blink, he was on his knees with one arm twisted behind his back and Darcy's other hand gripping his shoulder.

"Dammit Lance," Darcy whispered. "Don't sneak up on me."

"I didn't, you were asleep," he replied quietly as she let him go. "Glad to see you still have it, though."

She motioned for him to follow her and they stood in the hallway just outside the door so they wouldn't disturb their still sleeping daughter. Glancing back at the bed, Darcy shook her head, "I swear she could sleep through an earthquake."

"What happened?" Lance asked. "I came back from my session and Keith said there was an incident with Sky, but you didn't elaborate. I had a hell of a time finding you."

"The circus sent a welcoming committee up to the castle and there were clowns in the nursery. I didn't know they were here and they didn't know Sky was afraid of them. I decided to stop in and check on her before I went to class, I found Allura trying to calm Sky in the hallway. I was going to take her to class with me when a clown came out and Sky panicked, she was so scared she wet herself. So I brought her here and she got a bath and a change of clothes."

Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Keith said they were going to go tonight and they're getting a behind the scenes look, so he'll let me know if he finds anything out of the ordinary."

Darcy smiled and laid her hand on his cheek, "Sweetie, I love that you are this worried, but she is just a little girl who is afraid of clowns. No one is out to get her. I know you just want to look out for her and take care of her, but this is in her mind. The circus leaves next week and she'll be fine."

"I didn't tell you this last night because I didn't want Sky to hear, but I had a weird feeling, Darc. There was someone out there. Chewy sensed something too."

"Are you serious?"

He nodded.

"What do you think…"

"Mommy?"

They both looked down to see Sky standing in the doorway, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Hi, kiddo, how're you doing?" Darcy asked, passing her hand through her daughter's hair.

"I'm hungry." 

Darcy looked at her watch seeing it was after one. She picked Sky up and set her on her hip, "What do you say we head home and I'll make you a grilled cheese sandwich."

"With pickles?"  
  
"As long as you don't feed pickles to Chewy."

"'Kay."

"What are you wearing?" Lance asked, tugging at her t-shirt.

"I think it's one of da twins' shirts."

"Okay, but just this once. I don't ever want to see you wearing a Buccaneers shirt again, okay?" He tickled her stomach.

"'Kay, Daddy," she giggled. "I like da Bears."

"That's my girl," Lance caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "Maybe this year we can go home and you can see your first Chicago Bears game in person."

"For real?"

"For real."

Darcy gave him a quick kiss, "We'll see you later, honey."

He nodded and kissed Sky's cheek, "Be good."

"Why does everyone keep saying dat to me?" She asked dramatically.

"Because you are your father's daughter," Darcy said as they made their way down the hall.

……………………………………………………………………………….

"Daddy, I need cotton candy."

Keith looked down at his daughter who was holding his hand as they made their way through the crowd, "You _need_ cotton candy?"

"Uh huh."

"Me too, Daddy," the twins added in unison.

Keith met Allura's eyes as she smiled. They had left Tess home with Nanny since she was too young to appreciate the circus and they were now meandering through the crowd. Allura's hands were clasped tightly around her son's hands while Cady clung to her father. They were on their way to meet with the ringleader who had promised them a preshow tour.

"Can you wait until after the tour?" He asked. "We're supposed to meet the ringleader now."

"I guess so," Cady sighed.

"You just had corndogs and popcorn, you can wait for the cotton candy," Allura told her.

"Over here," Keith led them to a smaller tent just behind the main tent.

A short man dressed in a sparkly, dark purple jacket with tails over a pink shirt and green bowtie stood beside the tent. His curly red hair was topped by a tall green top hat. When he saw the royal family approaching, he swept the hat off his head and bowed deeply. It was hard to believe that he was not only the ringleader, but also the manager of the circus.

"Your Highness! Commander! How wonderful of you and your beautiful family to join us tonight," his voice was melodic as he spoke. 

Allura curtsied, "Mr. Pepo."

"Ah, your highness," he bowed again and when he stood, pulled a rose from within the sleeve of his jacket, offering it to Allura. "It is just Pepo."

Keith groaned inwardly and rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Please, follow me, we will start with the main tent, there you can meet some of our animals," Pepo was now speaking to the Whitaker children.

They followed the sparkling man into the tent where they met horses, floxins, loopers, tigers, lions, and elephants. The clowns showed them how they squeeze into a small car and jump through hoops. From there, they were shown around the games and food tents. Pepo was obviously quite proud of the tight ship he ran with his people. They were a large family who looked out for each other and their customers.

They returned to the small tent where they had first met with Pepo.

"Well, I must get ready to introduce the show," Pepo told them. "Here are your tickets, you have front row seats."

"Thank you, Pepo, we had a wonderful time," Allura told him, clasping his hand in both of hers.

"Thank you, Pepo," Cady echoed softly. 

"Yeah, thanks!" Gideon said, tugging on the string of the balloon he had been given.

Declan grinned, his mouth full of cotton candy.

Keith shook the man's hand, "Thank you, Pepo."

"It was a true pleasure of mine."

"What's in that tent?" Cady asked, pointing to the small one.

"Oh, that is just my office," Pepo winked at her. "Nothing that would interest a beautiful young lady like you."

"Well, I'd like to see it," Keith said. "I'm interested in seeing how a circus is run."

Pepo looked at his pocket watch, "I suppose I have a few moments if you would like to see, but I really must get ready."

Allura gave her husband a strange look, "I'll take the kids in and find our seats. Here's your ticket, come find us when you're done."

He nodded and winked at her, "I'll be there in a minute."

"As you can see, Commander," Pepo said as he held back the tent flap for Keith to pass through. "We do almost everything by computer, but it still hasn't cleaned up my workspace."

Within the tent was a desk set up with a computer and various papers spread out around it. There was a cot along one wall, a trunk along another, and in the center was a table covered with folders and papers. How someone was able to work in such clutter amazed Keith.

"I apologize for the mess, I really wasn't expecting anyone. Do you have any questions?"

"I was just curious," Keith commented as he walked around the table. "But then I guess running a circus is pretty much like running any business."

"Oh yes, we have overhead, payroll and you have no idea how much the animals eat…"

Pepo's voice faded away as Keith noticed a pile of photos lying on top of an open folder. The picture on top was a close up of Schuyler Collier.


	4. Things Keep Getting Stranger

Hi All!  
Thank you so much for your great reviews, they really mean a lot.

I have to admit that I was never afraid of clowns (but then I've never seen "It" or read the book). To be honest, I'm indifferent to them now, but I liked them as a kid. (Well, there used to be this clown lamp that hung in the room I slept in whenever we visited my grandmother and it always kind of creeped me out. When I broke it with the bunk bed ladder it was a total accident…really…I swear it was) But you will soon see that this is not any ordinary clown and Sky (and Chewy) know that. I can't really comment on some of your reviews because I don't want to give anything away ;-)

Mustang Ace, Red Lion2, T.F. Kit, Craze, d, Queen Merla, C-Town Chica, Anony, and Dee – Thank you so much for your reviews! You guys are awesome!

Ytak – Thanks for your review, it really made my day. The whole reason I started writing fanfiction was to try and strengthen my writing. When I look back on the first couple of stories I've written (particularly "Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder") I actually cringe. The fact that you've notice the changes in my writing and that you think I'm getting better really means a lot. Thank you.

And in response to your comment about Sky's name, Schuyler is pronounced Skyler, its Danish or Dutch, depending on where you look it up. With Lance and Darcy's love of flight, I thought a name relating to the sky would suit them and their daughter and well, I just like that spelling.

Thanks all!

Failte

#####################################################################################################

"Ah!" Pepo swept over to where Keith was standing, looking at the photos. "Aren't those wonderful?"

"Who are these children?" Keith asked, picking up the picture of Schuyler.

"These are children who have visited our circus and had fun. We take their pictures to use in our brochures and posters."

"I'm not so sure if this is legal."

"Don't worry, Commander, we have covered all our bases," Pepo dug around on the table and pulled out another folder. "We have signed slips by all their parents to allow us to use their child's image on our advertisements. We also send copies of whatever we make, the brochure, flyer, or poster, to the family as a keepsake."

Keith looked back down at the photo in his hand. He couldn't imagine Lance or Darcy allowing them to use their daughter's likeness, they wanted Sky to have a normal childhood untouched by the limelight.

"I'm terribly sorry, Commander," Pepo hurried over to his trunk and flipped it open. "But I really must get moving, I cannot keep our audience waiting."

With his back turned, Keith slipped the picture into his pocket, "Pepo, thank you so much for your kindness. My family and I really appreciate the time you have given us. If there is every anything we can do for you, please ask."

"Thank you Commander. Now go, join your family and enjoy the show."

……………………………………………………………………………………

Lance looked over to see Darcy with her head bent over a piece of fabric, sliding a needle in and out of it. At some point during her pregnancy with Sky, she had picked up cross stitching. He had never seen her as the crafty type, but a lot of the time during her difficult pregnancy was spent in bed or relaxing and she needed something to keep her hands and mind busy so she wouldn't go crazy.

He reached across the back of the couch and stroked her neck with his fingertip, smiling as she shivered. They had finally convinced Schuyler that there was no clown outside her window and that she was safe to go to bed. It was quiet, the two of them were alone and he was about to make the most of it.

"Lance," Darcy said in a warning tone as he slid closer to her.

"Come on, we're alone, I want you, you want me," he gently kissed her neck.

She set her needlework on the side table and sighed deeply, tilting her head to give him better access, "Do I have to hose you down?"

He moved closer, practically on top of her, "That sounds so hot."

With a smile, Darcy turned and met his mouth with her own, letting him slowly force her down, beneath him. His hands stroked her sides, bringing them around to unsnap her jeans while she raced her nails up and down his back, feeling his muscles move beneath her fingers. She moaned quietly as his hands slid under her shirt and over her heated skin. Lance's mouth curved into a smile as he skimmed his lips over her jaw and down her throat, loving the fact that he could make her moan like that.

"Mommy?" Sky's voice was low and shaking.

Lance groaned and pressed his face into her throat as he buttoned her jeans.

"Yeah, Sky," Darcy pushed Lance up. "What are you doing up, honey?"

The little girl walked around to the front of the couch, clutching Mr. Bumbles, her eyes tired and red, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Daddy fell asleep and fell over on me," Darcy said, patting the couch and letting the little girl climb up between them. "Why are you out of bed?"

"I heard a noise," she whispered, leaning against Lance.

"It was probably just the televiewer," Lance told her, motioning to the screen where a sitcom was playing.

Sky shook her head, "No, it was outside. I think its da cown." 

"There's no clown outside, pun'kin," Darcy ran her hand over Sky's hair. "They're all the way in town, asleep in their tents."

"Schuyler, you need to go back to bed and go to sleep," Lance tried to sound stern as his daughter hooked her arm around his and hugged him to her. "There are no clowns…" He broke off when Chewy lifted his head and barked.  
  
Sky turned her face into Lance's arm.

Chewy jumped to his feet and ran to the front door, growling.

Darcy looked at Lance when they heard the definite sound of footsteps on their porch. 

"Sky, stay here with Mommy," Lance pried her off his arm. "I'm going to see what's going on."

"No, Daddy, don't go."

"Come here, sweetie," Darcy gathered her onto her lap. "Its okay, Daddy'll take care of it."

Lance crept out to the front hall and was in the process of taking out his weapon when there was a knock at the door. He heard Sky scream and Darcy comforting her.   
  
"Who is it?"

"It's me, Lance, I need to talk to you."

Putting his blaster away, Lance opened the door to see Keith standing on the other side, "What's up, man? What are you doing here so late?"

"I found something at the circus I wanted to show you," he stopped when he heard Sky crying. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, come with me," Lance led him to the living room. "Look, Sky, its Uncle Keith. There's no clown."

Sky peeked over her mother's shoulder and let out a breath of relief when Keith waved at her.

"Hi, Keith," Darcy called over her shoulder. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you and Lance, alone."

Darcy whistled for Chewy and patted the couch. With the dog curled up beside Sky, his head on the little girl's lap, Darcy changed the channel so the televiewer was on the cartoon station. "Stay here, Sky," Darcy commanded. "We'll be right back."

She joined Lance and Keith in the hallway.

"What is it?" Lance asked.

"I told you that Allura and I were taking the kids to the circus tonight."

Lance and Darcy both nodded.

"We got a behind the scenes tour and at the end I followed the manager, Pepo, into his tent, telling him that I wanted to see how a circus is run. There were piles of paper everywhere and on top of his table I found this," Keith reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture of Sky. "He had a folder full of children's pictures. He said they used them in advertising, like posters, to show how much fun kids had at the circus, and he said that he has signed permission forms from the parents, allowing them to use their children's likeness. But I couldn't believe you would really allow them to use Sky."

Lance snatched the picture from his hand and stared at it. Red hot fury burned inside him at this blatant invasion of their privacy and the targeting of their daughter. "No, we never gave our permission," he growled.

Darcy laid a hand on his arm, "Lance…"

"I'm going down there now and beat some answers out of this asshole."

"No, you aren't," Keith said. "I already have Pidge online researching the Muskerry Brothers and Pepo. If they so much as sneezed while setting up a tent, he will find it. Tomorrow, Hunk and Paton are going to the circus to see what they can find. We're going to handle this legally, Lance, and we will find out what's going on."

Lance slowly raised his eyes from the photograph of his little girl and glared at Keith. "You have until the end of this week and then I take matters into my own hands."

Keith nodded, "Fair enough. But I would suggest you guys lay low until this passes."

"I'm going take off this week and stay with Sky," Darcy said.

"I got you covered."

"But I'll be up at the castle every day," Lance said. "I want to know what is going on."

"That's fine. If there is anything you guys need, just let me know, we'll take care of it."

"Thank you, Keith," Darcy led him to the door. "We really appreciate your help."

Keith looked over his shoulder at Lance who was still glaring at the picture and formulating a plan in his head. "Don't let him do anything stupid," Keith whispered to Darcy.

"I'll do what I can."

"That's all I can ask. Good night, Darcy."

"Good night, Keith, be careful out there." 

"Good night, Lance," Keith called from the doorway.

Lance grunted.

"'Night Uncle Keith!" Sky called from the living room.

"Good night, Sky!" He called back with a smile before nodding to Darcy and leaving.

After shutting and locking the doors, Darcy turned just in time to see her husband disappearing into the office. She checked the living room and saw Sky curled up on the couch, her head on Chewy's back, her eyes glued to the old cartoon on the televiewer. Darcy didn't bother knocking on the office door. "What are you doing, Lance?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" He mumbled, opening and slamming drawers.

"Don't do anything irrational, Keith is handling this."

He whipped his head up and looked at her, his eyes flashing with anger, "We have to find out what is going on, Darcy. Why do they have a picture of our daughter? When did they take it? Who took it? Something is going on and I am going to find out what it is."

"I admit that this is creepy and I am just as concerned as you are, but you can't just go down there and barge into this…this man's tent and threaten him."

"Like hell I can't!"

"Think about Sky! She's scared enough as it is, it won't help if her father goes off half cocked and beats up half the circus! Let's see what Hunk and Pidge find out. If they do find evidence that there is some kind of threat against Sky, then I will help you tear this man apart."

Lance dropped the extra ammunition round he had found back in the drawer, slamming it shut. "She's just a little girl."

"I know, honey," she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

He turned in her embrace and rested his cheek on top of her head, "What do they want with her?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out."

A tentative knock on the door had Lance lifting his head, "Come on in, Sky."

"Watcha doin'?"

Darcy turned away from the door, wiping a shaky hand over her cheeks.

"We were just talking," Lance told her, trying to keep his voice light.

Sky shuffled into the room, her mouth stretching wide in a yawn, "You were yellin'."

"No," Lance picked her up and stood her on the desk so they were at eye level together. "We were talking loud. Why are you still awake?"

"I tried to fall asleep but den Chewy had a dream and he kicked me."

"I was thinking," Darcy spoke in a voice a little higher than normal. "That tomorrow, Sky, you and I will stay here all day."

"Why?"

"Well, Chewy needs a bath and you know I need your help with that," she walked over and picked her daughter up off the desk. "And then you can help me vacuum the floor and then we can make cookies. Does that sound like fun?"

Sky nodded and laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

"But you're going to need to get some sleep, little girl."

"Can I sleep with you?"

"I got a better idea," Darcy said brightly. "We'll sleep in the living room. We'll camp out! We can make a tent."

"Yeah! Daddy too?"

"Of course, Daddy too," Darcy made her way toward the door. "You and Daddy get some chairs from the kitchen and I'll get blankets."

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

Lance crept silently out of the house early the next morning while his wife and daughter still slept on the living room floor in their makeshift tent. He hadn't slept much that night and he noticed that Darcy didn't sleep well either, she tossed and turned and mumbled in her sleep. Schuyler, however, slept like a log.

He couldn't wait any longer to see if Pidge found anything online. After leaving a note for Darcy on the kitchen table, Lance sneaked out and hurried up to the castle.

Darcy jolted awake when Sky rolled over in her sleep and smacked her in the face with her hand. Sitting up and stretching, she saw Lance's sleeping bag gone and she knew he had already left for the castle. Schuyler was still asleep, so Darcy got up and padded into the kitchen to put the coffee on when Lance's note caught her eye:

**Darc****,**

**I decided to go to the castle early today to see if Keith and Pidge found anything. Do me a favor and just stay in the house today. Make sure all the doors and windows are locked, I don't want you guys taking any chances, you're too important. I checked your blaster, it's charged and ready to go, I put it back in the closet, but the box isn't locked so you can get to it quickly. Just be careful and if you need anything you know how to get a hold of me.**

**Love you,  
Lance**

She smiled and shook her head, she loved the way he was always thinking of them and their safety. Lance really was a good man. Glancing at the clock on the stove, she noticed it was later than she had originally thought. Sky was still passed out with Chewy beside her as Darcy started taking down their tent, folding the blankets and moving the chairs back to the kitchen.

The morning was spent getting Sky up and dressed, then the two of them wrestled Chewy into the bathtub and simultaneously gave him a bath and hosed down the bathroom. They vacuumed and dusted the first floor of the house and answered three calls from Lance before sitting down to lunch.

Darcy convinced Sky to lie down on the couch and try to take a nap while she lugged the vacuum upstairs to clean the bedrooms. She tackled hers and Lance's room first, flipping on the stereo and singing along. From there she moved on to Schuyler's room, still humming to the music as she picked up various stuffed animals and placed them on shelves and in a special hammock Lance had strung up in a corner. She turned around and noticed that the way the sun was shining through the window highlighted fingerprints on the glass. Sighing, Darcy went out to the hall closet, pulled out a bottle of window cleaner and a cloth, and returned to her daughter's room.

Upon closer inspection, she realized they were too big to be little girl fingerprints. Rolling her eyes and silently cursing Lance, she sprayed the cleaner on the window and wiped it off. The fingerprints were still there. She sprayed again and wiped harder. Refusing to believe what she was seeing, Darcy sprayed cleaner on the window a third time and rubbed even harder. Fear and disgust rolled in her stomach and made her feel sick. The fingerprints were still there.

They were on the outside of the window. 


	5. Suspicions

Darcy stared at the window, her hand clutching the plastic bottle of cleaner. _This can't be. If the fingerprints are on the outside, then maybe Sky really did see…_She shook her head.

Walking stiffly, not really sure where she was going, Darcy moved from the room. Without even realizing it, she put away the cleaner and threw the cloth in the laundry pile. She found herself in the living room, looking down at her sleeping daughter. A rush of emotions filled her. Guilt for not believing her when she had first told them she had seen a clown outside her window, inadequacy at not being able to chase away her daughter's fears, sympathy for what Sky must have been feeling, and just plain adoration for the little girl on the couch.

Pulling herself out of her reverie, Darcy laid an afghan over Sky and dropped a kiss on her head. She went to the office and dialed up Castle Control on the videophone.

"Castle Control, Castle of Lions," Koran answered.

"Koran, is Lance there?" Darcy asked, her voice surprisingly steady.

"I'm sorry, but he's out teaching flight maneuvers."

"As soon as he comes back in, can you please send him home?"

Koran raised his eyebrows, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes…no…just send him home, please."

"Alright, I'll tell him as soon as he gets in."

"Thank you, Koran."

……………………………………………………………………………

An hour later, Lance ran up the steps to the front porch of his house and opened the door. Everything seemed alright. He found Schuyler sitting at the kitchen table rubbing a gray crayon over a piece of paper with Chewy lying under her seat. The dog lifted his head and wagged his tail when his master walked in, but he didn't leave his post.

"Hey, Shorty, what have you got there?" He asked.

Sky didn't even lift her head, "It's for Gramma, Mommy said we'll mail it to her for her birthday."

"That's a very nice picture of Lucy," he guessed, looking at the big gray blob.

She beamed up at him, "Thanks Daddy." 

"Where's Mommy?"

"Upstairs," Sky told him, wiggling around on her chair.

"You have ants in your pants, Sky?"

"I hafta go potty."

"Then go."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Sky sighed and looked up at him, speaking as though he was the dumbest person alive, "_Because_ Daddy, Mommy said I hafta stay right here an' not go anywhere. If I'm good den we'll go get ice cream tonight. And I want ice cream more den I wanna go potty. "

Lance smiled and ran a hand over her hair, "Sweetheart, you can go potty. You've been very good and I promise we'll go get ice cream tonight."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, shifting on her seat.

"Go, Schuyler, I promise Mommy won't be mad." 

The little girl hopped off her chair and hurried awkwardly to the bathroom, her knees pressed together.

"Darcy?" Lance called out as he walked up the stairs. When he had gotten back to Castle Control and Koran had told him that Darcy wanted him to come home, Lance felt his heart stop. If it had been a huge emergency, then she would have had Koran call him in from his class, but the fact that she had asked him to come home in the middle of the afternoon still worried him.

"In here!" She called from Sky's room.

He stood in the doorway to see her standing over their daughter's bed, folding clothes and putting them into a little red suitcase. "Is Sky taking a vacation?" 

"We're going up to the castle for a couple of days," she told him, folding up a pair of pajamas. "I spoke to Allura and she said we could stay as long as we want to."

Lance walked over to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, "What happened, Darcy?"

"Come here," she took his hand and led him over to the window. "I was getting some housecleaning done when I noticed fingerprints on Sky's window. At first I thought they were hers, but then I realized they were too big to be hers and I thought they were yours. I tired to clean it, but they wouldn't come off." She pointed to the marks on the glass, "They're on the outside, Lance, someone was outside her window!"

"Alright," he slid his arm around her shoulders, feeling her shake. "Its okay, Darc, we'll go up to the castle as soon as you're packed."

"They're good, latent prints," she continued, her voice rising a little. "I was thinking we should take the glass up to the castle and see if they can lift and analyze them."

"We'll do that."

"And I brought in some wood from the shed to cover the opened window."

"I'll take care of it."

"I already packed some things for us and Allura said we can take Chewy with us, even though I hate asking her to do that. Not that she minds, it's Nanny who hates dogs."

Lance noticed how fast she was talking and her hands moving in quick chopping motions, she was nervous. He pulled her close into a tight hug, "It's alright, honey, Sky is fine and we'll make sure nothing will happen to her."

"I am the worst mother ever," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"You are not, you're the best mother I know. Sky is lucky to have you."

"She came to us and I didn't believe her. I pretty much called her a liar," her voice shook.

He turned his head and kissed her temple, "We both thought it was just a dream. It seemed silly, at the time, to think a clown could be outside her window."

"I am never again going to doubt anything she ever says again."

Lance pushed her away, holding her at arm's length, "Darcy, she is a smart girl with an incredible imagination. You know as well as I do that she has a tendency to exaggerate, all little kids do. You are not a bad mother and Sky doesn't think that either. Finish packing and I will get someone to come up from the castle to lift the prints."

Darcy nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, "I promised Sky we would go get ice cream and I don't want to disappoint her."

"Fine, we'll go out for dinner and ice cream. Now go get ready." He leaned down and kissed her gently, "I love you."

"Love you too," Darcy gave him a weak smile.

Sky was just climbing back into her chair at the table when Darcy walked into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry," she said hurriedly as her mother walked in. "I had ta go potty an' Daddy said I could. I didn't wanna move."

Feeling like the meanest mother in the world, Darcy knelt beside her and took her small face in her hands, "It's alright, baby, I didn't mean you couldn't go potty, you have been very good and I am so proud of you. I love you very, very much my Sky."

Schuyler smiled, feeling happy and relieved that her mother wasn't mad, "I love you too, Mommy."

"What do you say we pack up a few of your toys, we're going to spend a couple of nights at the castle."

"For real?"

"Yup. We're going to go into town and have dinner and we'll go get ice cream and then we'll go to the castle. Does that sound good?"

"Can Chewy come?"

"Sure, I already talked to Aunt Allura and she said he could come too."

"We have to pack some toys for him too."

"We will," Darcy stood and offered her hand to Sky. "Let's get your stuff together and then we'll grab some of Chewy's toys, okay?"

"'Kay," she took her mother's hand and jumped off her chair.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Pidge stared at the computer screen, just as he had for the past several hours. He was so focused on the task at hand he didn't hear the door behind him slide open.

"You find anything?"

He looked up as Becca set a mug of coffee down beside his elbow. Taking off his glasses, Pidge rubbed his eyes, "I've found a few inconsistencies that I am trying to figure out."

"Like what?" She asked, rubbing at the knots of tension in his shoulders.

"Well, according to the Intergalactic Business Registry, Muskerry Brothers' Circus was started less than a year ago, ten months to be exact."

"And?"

"We were there last night, Bec, think about it. They seemed rather settled for such a young circus. The animals were mature and had a deep connection with their trainers, the clowns and other performers were not new. I find it hard to believe that they have created such an incredible show in such a short time. However," he shuffled through some papers beside the computer. "I found this." He handed her an article he had printed out.

Becca scanned the paper. It told the story of another circus, the twenty seven year old Kandell Family Circus that was shut down following an investigation. A year ago, evidence had been found that connected some of the elder members of the circus to black market child adoptions. A chill ran down Becca's spine and she shivered when the realization of what Pidge was suggesting sank in.

"So, uh, so you think the Kandell Family reopened their circus under a different name?" She whispered.

He nodded, "I just have to find the connection. The court records were sealed and a couple of people were jailed. But it is a possibility that some of the members of the circus decided to reopen under a different name and they're up to their old tricks."

"But why would they try and kidnap Schuyler? I mean, she's only four, but she knows her name, her address, her parent's names, and that she can come to the Castle if she needs to, not to mention the fact that she is the daughter of the second-in-command to the Voltron Force. It doesn't make sense. It's just plain stupid."

"It would be possible, that if she's separated from them long enough, they could convince her that she was someone else. A four year old would be easy to manipulate and brainwash."

"Oh God," Becca leaned against the desk as her knees weakened. She absolutely adored her niece and if anything happened to her, she didn't know what she would do and she knew it would be the end of Darcy.

Pidge laid a hand on her knee and squeezed gently, "We're not going to let anything happen to her, babe. They're coming up to the castle tonight to stay until this whole thing passes."

"This could explain her fear of clowns."

"But how would she know if a clown was trying to kidnap her?"

"What can I do to help?"

He shrugged, "Rubbing my shoulders helped."

She smiled and kissed him, "Honey, she is my niece, I want to help."

"Alright, go get your laptop, you can do some research with me. With two of us we can cover more ground."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Okay, I think you are officially over your guilt," Lance said dryly as they left the toy store that was conveniently located beside the ice cream parlor.

Darcy watched as Sky skipped just ahead of them, hugging her new stuffed dog that strongly resembled Chewy. Both she and Lance were carrying bags bulging with toys, games, and books.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Darcy replied loftily as they approached their car.

"Yes you do. I think sixty dollars worth of toys pays off your guilt debt."

"$57.83," she corrected, kissing his cheek. "Not to mention a big sundae and allowing her to have French fries for dinner. And it isn't guilt, its love."

He rolled his eyes and slammed the trunk shut over their suitcases and purchases, "I thought you didn't believe in buying a person's love."

"I think Chewy has to go potty," Sky said, patting the dog's head as he stuck it out the window.

Lance checked his watch, "We can take him for a quick walk over to the park and back before we head up to the castle."

"Come here, peanut," Darcy held her hands out to her daughter. Sky threw herself at her mother and laughed as she was swung around onto her mother's back. "I want you to stick to me like glue, okay Sky?"

"'Kay, Mommy," she giggled.

Lance clipped Chewy's leash onto his collar and they crossed to the park in the center of town. A few years earlier, swings, a couple of see-saws, and some monkey bars had been installed, making it a popular place with the kids in town. Darcy took Sky over to the monkey bars while Lance walked Chewy toward the trees.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Hunk and Paton walked hand in hand around the University of Arus to where the circus was set up. They were early, the gates weren't supposed to open for another fifteen minutes.

"What's the plan?" Paton asked as they drew closer.

"Just keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary," Hunk said. "Keith said that we should really look out for this Pepo guy."

"What kind of name is Pepo?"

"I assume it's a stage name."

"Do we know anything about him?" 

"Just that he is the ringleader and manager of the circus and, for some reason, he had a picture of Sky."

Paton looked around, checking the perimeter, "I can plant some of my men here."

Hunk nodded, "That would probably be a good idea."

As the chief of police for the city of Alforia, Paton had access to over a hundred and fifty men and women officers. And Hunk knew that she was the perfect person to have investigating Pepo.

"I'll stop by the station after we're done here and put together a schedule. I already have uniformed men that patrol the area, but they haven't found anything out of the ordinary yet. I'll put some plain clothes officers in the circus each evening."

"Alright, I'll let Keith know what you're doing."

"What precautions are Lance and Darcy taking?"

"They're moving back up to the castle for now."

"That's a good idea, but I can set them up with police protection if they want to stay at home."

Hunk kissed the top of her head, "I know, and I'm sure they'd appreciate it. But if I know Lance, he doesn't want a lot of attention drawn to the situation or to Sky, and spending a couple of days at the castle isn't as obvious."

A large group of people had already gathered, waiting to gain entrance to the circus grounds. A few people stopped Hunk and Paton to speak to the two of them. While they waited, he had his picture taken with a few children.

"Welcome to Muskerry Brothers' Circus," a loud booming voice announced.

Applause broke out in the gathered crowd and excited voices rose.

"If you will please form two single file lines, we will open the gates and welcome you in!"

Hunk and Paton joined a line as it slowly moved forward. They handed their tickets to a sullen faced young girl who tore them and handed the stub back. A tall man dressed in a sparkling red suit over a black shirt and a blinking orange tie stood at the entrance, greeting people and answering questions.

"Is that Pepo?" Paton asked.

Hunk shook his head, "No, Keith said he was short and had curly red hair."

Walking the perimeter, they tried to blend in with the crowd, which was easier said then done when you're six feet, six inches tall and built like a wall of solid muscle.

"There's the tent Keith was talking about," Hunk whispered.  
  
"What are you going to do? You can't just walk in there."

"Wanna bet?"

"Hunk."

"Stay here, Pat."

"Henry…"

"Just stay here," he left her standing beside a ring toss game and crept around the back of the tent.

Pepo had had his tent set up against the tree line that butted up against the meadow. He felt safer, thinking no one could sneak up on him, or if they tried to, he would be able to hear them. As it was, he was standing in his tent fuming, not caring what was going on outside.

Hunk stepped over a root and ducked under a low branch. Holding his breath, he crouched down and peered through an opening in the flaps where the ties had loosened. He saw a short man with vibrant red, curly hair dressed in black pants with lights running down each leg and a sparkling silver shirt while talking to a man who was obviously a clown without his makeup on.

"…you can't get to her?" Pepo asked angrily. "She's perfect."

"Her parents are making it hard to get to her," the clown answered. "And she is afraid of clowns. What kid is afraid of clowns?"

"Then you find another way to get to her, she is worth three million."

"I know what she's worth."

The sound of skin hitting skin echoed through the tent as Pepo slapped the clown across the face, "Don't be so insolent. Just do your job."

"Yes, sir."

"If you fail me again, you will be gone."

"You can't fire me, I know too much."

Pepo leaned in close, "I wasn't talking about _firing_ you."

The clown's face turned bright red, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Go," Pepo dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Get your makeup on, we have a show in half an hour." 

Hunk moved stealthily back to where his wife was standing, her arms crossed over her chest, looking annoyed.

"We should go back to the castle."

Her expression changed to one of concern, "What is it?"

"They're after some kid, a girl, worth three million dollars."

"And you think they're talking about Sky?"

"They said she's afraid of clowns and her parents are making it hard for them to get to her."

"Damn," Paton muttered. "If we had more hard evidence I could go in and arrest him now."

"We're working on the evidence."

"I'm going to go to my office and get some officers together, I want to start planting them tonight."

"Alright," Hunk gave her a quick kiss as they had to part ways in the middle of town. "Come up to the castle when you're done."

"I will."

"Be careful."

"You too."

He squeezed her hand and winked at her as they went their separate ways.

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

Becca was sitting up on Pidge's bed, leaning back on his pillows with her laptop open in front of her. She was researching the black market child adoption rings, finding some seriously disturbing information. Not all the adoptions went to loving, childless couples, some children were sold into slavery. There were even what was called 'Designer Adoptions', where couples could place an order for a specific child, the sex, hair color, eye color, and, for an exorbitant fee, could get that child.

"Bingo."

Becca looked up at the sound of Pidge's exclamation. "What is it?"

"I think I found a connection," he told her, pulling his communicator off his belt. "I have to check with Keith and see if this is the guy he spoke to at the circus."

Becca set her computer aside and got up to see what was on his screen. A mug shot of any angry looking man with a pointed goatee and bushy black hair glared back at her. Underneath the picture was the name Calbert Papillo Kandell. Beneath that was another picture, a man with a blonde crew cut and a defeated expression. His name was Oliverios Cronus Mahault.

"Keith, can you come to my room please," Pidge requested when the Commander answered his call. "I need you to check something out."

"I'll be right there."

"What's the story?" Becca asked when he snapped his communicator shut.

Pidge scrolled down the screen, "It seems that Calbert was the son of the man running Kandell Family Circus, a Rodolfo Kandell, and Oliverios was one of the performers, a second generation clown. Both men were arrested under suspicion of kidnapping, but were released due to lack of evidence. Come in, Keith!" He called out at the knock on the door.

The door slid open and Keith hurried in, "What have you found?"

"Do either of these guys look familiar to you?"

Keith leaned over and studied the pictures. Even with the goatee, he recognized Pepo. "If he shaved and dyed his hair red, that would be Pepo."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Then let's go get him," Becca said.

"It's not that easy, Bec," Keith said. "We have our suspicions, but we don't have any evidence."

"So we wait until they try and take Sky before we do anything?"

"Lance and Darcy are coming here, nothing is going to happen to Sky."

"So we just let them go? What happens next? They go to another planet and try to kidnap some other kid? You're going to let that happen?" Her voice rose with each question.

Keith ran a hand through his hair, "Rebecca, you are too close to this. You and Lance both have to understand that we have to do this legally. If we burst in there without any hard evidence, they can turn this around and charge us with invasion of privacy, wrongful arrest, and various other charges. You have the Voltron Force and the chief of police working on this, we will make sure nothing happens to Sky and, if they are guilty, we will make sure they serve time."

"Are they on their way here?"

"Lance said they were stopping in town for dinner first and then they were coming up."

"Maybe you should contact him and tell him what we found," Pidge said.

Keith nodded, "Thanks for your help guys. Compile a file of everything you've found and we'll present it to Paton, see what she thinks we should do."

……………………………………………………………………………………..

"Come on, Chewy," Lance sighed. "All the trees are the same, just pick one and take care of business." He had an uneasy feeling and kept looking over to where Sky was crossing the monkey bars, Darcy steadying her with her hands holding the little girl's waist. The sun was starting to set and he was antsy to get them up to the castle, he was dying to know if Pidge or Hunk had found anything else.

"I can do it, Mommy," Sky insisted.

"Okay, but if you fall, it's your own fault," Darcy teased.

"You can catch me."

"Oh, can I?"

"Yup."

"Are you two gorgeous ladies ready to go?" Lance asked.

"No, Daddy, it's still early."

"But the sun is setting."

"Come on," Darcy took a hold of Sky and lifted her off the monkey bars. "Cady's waiting."

"I don't wanna."

"You've had a busy day," Darcy said as they walked back to the car. "You have no reason to pout."

Lance unclipped his communicator as it beeped, "Collier."

"Hey Lance, are you on your way up to the castle?" Keith asked.

"Yeah, we're getting in the car now, we'll be there in a few minutes. Why? What's up?"

"Pidge and Becca have been doing some research and they found something I want to show you."

"Alright, we'll be there soon." Lance snapped the communicator shut and grabbed Darcy by the arm, pulling her and the dog along at a quick pace.

"What is it, Lance?" She asked.

"Keith has something he wants to show us," he told her. "It's getting dark and I want to get up to the castle before it gets any later."

Darcy buckled Schuyler into the car while Lance loaded the dog in. He didn't even wait for Darcy to buckle her own seatbelt before he took off, his feelings of uneasiness and impatience growing.


	6. Misbehaving

"Sit down, Lance," Keith sighed.

Lance stood, glaring down at the surface of the conference room table, "What if it was Cady, Keith?"

Darcy took his hand and tugged until he fell back into his chair. She and Lance were sitting at the table with Keith, Allura, Pidge, Becca, and Hunk. They had just gone through all the information that had been gathered during the day.

"I would be as angry and frustrated as you are," Keith admitted. "But Sky is in the castle and safe, we won't let anything happen to her. But you know we can't just go down there and accuse them of attempted kidnapping on _very_ circumstantial evidence." 

"Paton is placing officers within and around the circus to keep an eye out for anything odd," Hunk added.

"Gordon and Lajed are working on the prints they lifted from the window," Keith told them. "They're running them through the Garrison's and the Intergalactic Policing Organization's databases to see if they can find a match. If they do match anyone connected to the circus, we will go right down there and arrest them immediately."

"I can't stand this," Lance slammed his fist down on the table. "There is a threat to my daughter out there and we know it and you're telling me I can't do anything about it!"

"Lance," Allura said gently. "We are doing everything within our power. We want to make sure that when we arrest them, we have enough evidence to put them away forever. We want to end their business completely."

"So we sit on our asses and wait for them to attack? We use our daughter as bait."

"You're being unfair, Lance," Becca chided him. "We are all doing everything we can to protect Sky, we all love her and you know that. But we have to be logical about this."

"Logical? You expect me to be logical! This is my daughter!"

"Lance," Darcy squeezed his hand. "Calm down, this isn't helping."

Hunk's cell phone rang, he plucked off his belt and announced, "Its Paton."

"Alright," Keith stood. "We've all been brought up to speed. Pidge, Becca get back to your research. Lance, go run a mile and get over your attitude problem so you can help us better…"

Lance scowled at him.

"I'm going to go check on the kids," Allura said, pushing back from the table.

Darcy turned to her husband, "Come with me, Lance."

"What?"

She took his hand and pulled him from the room and to the Observation Deck. Once they were alone and the door was locked behind them, Darcy turned to him. "Lance, you are not helping the situation. I want to go down there as badly as you do and knock some heads, but we have to go about it the right way or it will all blow up in our faces."

"I know," he murmured, staring at the floor.

"Honey," Darcy cupped his chin and forced him to raise his eyes to hers. "We'll get through this, all of us, safely."

Letting out a long sigh, Lance pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. "I feel helpless."

"You're not."

"I was thinking that if nothing comes of this tonight, we'll go to the circus tomorrow and see what we can find."

Darcy tilted her head back, "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because I know you, Lance, and you will beat up any clown who crosses your path."

He smiled humorlessly, "Would that really be a bad thing?"

"Come on, let's go tuck our daughter in for the night," she said, stepping back and taking his hand.

The wing that had once been occupied by the Voltron Force was pretty much deserted now. Pidge still had a room there, but he only used it as an office since his computer was set up in there and he was essentially living with Becca. Allura was able to set Darcy and Lance up in their old room, so Sky could stay in what had been her nursery and their rooms were joined by a door in the wall.

"This brings back memories," Darcy smiled softly as they walked toward the door to Sky's room.

"You sneaking into my room late at night?" Lance teased.

"I never sneaked into your room," she huffed. "You were the one always invading my privacy."

"But they were welcome invasions," he added, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Darcy nodded to the guard who was patrolling the hallway and punched in the code to Sky's room. The door slid open and they heard a quick rustling of blankets and Sky whispering, "Shh."

Lance stood by the door while Darcy crept into the room.

"Sky?" She whispered. "Are you asleep?"

"Yes," Sky whispered back.

With a smile on her face, Darcy sat on the edge of the bed, "Well, if you're asleep, then I guess you don't need to hear a story."

"Yes I do," Sky sat straight up in bed. "I really do. One of da new ones."

Lance flipped on the light, "Who were you talking to when we walked in?"

"Chewy."

Darcy pulled back the blankets and uncovered the dog who was curled up beside the little girl, "Was he making a lot of noise?"

"Nanny doesn't want him in here," Sky explained. "She thinks he should be ou'side, but, um, but I told her dat…dat Chewy, he doesn't sleep, um, ou'side."

"I'll talk to Nanny," Lance assured her. "Chewy can sleep with you."

"But on top of the blankets," Darcy said, as Chewy got up, walked around in a circle and then curled up on top of the quilt. "It'll get too hot for him under the covers."

"'Kay."

Darcy walked over to the bags of things they had bought that evening, "What should we read?"

"Da elly-fant book!"

Darcy stretched out beside Sky and cracked open the book while Lance fell on his back across the foot of the bed and stared at the ceiling as he listened to his wife tell their daughter the story of Eddie the Elephant. How the young elephant got lost and was so sad because he would never see his family again, but he didn't give up hope and they were happily reunited at the end of the book. He let his eyes drift shut thinking about what a boring, predictable story it was and that he would be reading it to Sky over and over again because it was about a family of elephants.

"Mommy," Sky yawned when Darcy closed the book.

"What?"

"Am I in trouble?"

"No. Why do you think you're in trouble?"

"'Cause…'cause Cady said we was here 'cause I'm in trouble."

Darcy kissed the top of Schuyler's head, "No, baby, you're not in trouble."

"Dat's what I told Cady. I told her dat if…if I was in trouble…den…den you would make me sit in da corner."

A smile crossed Lance's face as he listened to them talk.

"That's right, but you've been such a good girl lately, you haven't had to sit in the corner for a long time."

"Not since I sprayed Daddy's shavin' cream all over da sink."

Lance lifted himself up on his elbows and looked at her, "That was you?"

Sky nodded, "Sorry, Daddy."

"You need to go to sleep, Schuyler," Darcy said, setting the book on the bedside table. "We'll be in the room next door, if you need anything, you push the green button and the door will open, okay?"

"Da gween button."

"That's right," Darcy kissed her cheek. "Good night, baby girl."

"I'm not a baby," Sky said sternly.

"You're right," her mother stood and helped Sky settle under the covers. "You're a big girl."

"Dat's right."

"But you'll always be my baby," Darcy said quickly.

Lance leaned down and kissed her, "Goodnight, Shorty."

"G'night Daddy."

"If you need anything, Sky, just push the green button."

"Da gween button," she repeated, yawning.

Darcy took Lance's hand since he seemed hesitant to leave her and pulled him to the door that led to their room.

"Mommy!"

Darcy jumped, "What is it, Sky?"

"I almost forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"Um, tomorrow, um, Nanny said dat, um, we can go swimmin' in da lake, um, but she…she said I had to ask you."

Darcy looked at Lance, he shook his head.

"What if I went with her?" she whispered to him.

"I don't want you guys out in the open."

"Nothing will happen on castle grounds and she'll be disappointed if she can't go."

"A little disappointment never killed anyone."

"You're being too overprotective."

"You're being too careless."

Darcy felt the heat rise to her face at his accusation.

"Mommy?" Sky called from across the room.

"I don't know, Schuyler," Darcy replied stiffly. "We'll talk about it in the morning."

Sky recognized that tone and knew not to argue, "'Kay. G'night."

"Good night," her parents replied before disappearing into their room.

"You think I'm being careless with our daughter?" Darcy asked in an angry stage whisper when the slid shut behind them.

Lance ran a hand over his face, "That's not what I meant, Darcy."

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant…I don't know…I want her locked up in her room until this has passed."

"Are you going to tell her why, Lance? Are you going to go in there and tell a four-year-old little girl that we think there is a clown who wants to take her away? Are you going to put her on a leash and make sure she is no farther than two feet from you?"

"No! But I'm not going to let her just wander out into the open while this threat is going on."

"I will be with her, Nanny will be there, and I can probably convince Becca to go with us too. She'll be fine."

"An old woman and a med student, not quite the backup I would like for you to have."

"You're being ridiculous," Darcy said, pulling a nightshirt out of her suitcase.

"Wanting to keep my daughter out of danger is ridiculous?"

"I want to keep her out of danger too, Lance, but she's a little girl, its summer, she wants to be with her friends. I want to keep her out of danger, but I don't want her to lose out on the fun of being a little girl."

Too tired to argue, Lance sat on the edge of the bed, "Fine. Why don't you guys wait until I'm done with work and we'll go for a swim before supper."

Darcy sat beside him and looked down at the blue nightshirt in her hands, "I understand your concern, Lance, I really do, and I agree with you. But don't you think, after all these years together, that you could trust me and my judgment?"

He lowered his head, sick of this argument, "I do trust you, Darcy, but it's dangerous out there."

"I would never do anything to put Sky in danger."

"I know."

She leaned against him and laid her head on his shoulder. Wordlessly, Lance leaned his cheek against the top of her head and they sat in silence, trying to figure out how they got to this point and why anyone would want to go after their daughter.

………………………………………………………………………………..

Lance woke the morning still wearing the clothes he had on the day before. At some point last night, Darcy had fallen asleep leaning against him and he had simply curled up in the bed with her. He lifted his head to see his wife still asleep, curled up on her side. Checking the clock on the bedside table, he was surprised to see it was almost nine.

_I guess it was a late night last night_, he thought as he stood and stretched. After taking a quick shower and sneaking Chewy out of Sky's bed to let him outside, he went in search of food.

"There you are," Keith said when Lance walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later. "I was going to give you another ten minutes before I called you."

Lance walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup, "What's up?"

"Paton called me about half an hour ago. She spent all night going over the information we gathered yesterday. No match has been found for the prints yet, but she thinks we have enough now to bring Pepo in for questioning."

"Just questioning?"

"It's a start, Lance, and she believes she can prevent them from leaving the planet until we have it all figured out just what is going on."

"When are they going to bring him in?"

"She's putting together the necessary paperwork now and they'll head over to the circus early afternoon."

"Why do we have to wait? Can't we go get him now?"

"She's going to try and confiscate his computer and papers to see if there is anything in there."

Lance let out a long breath, feeling a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. "So this could all be over today."

"Hopefully. Keep in mind that the evidence is circumstantial, Paton can't use what Hunk heard since technically he got it illegally."

"Great."

"Don't worry, man, they are not going to leave Arus until we know just what is going on. I do, however, think you guys should hang out here until we're sure any threat has passed."

"Alright, thanks, Keith, for everything."

"Sky is one of our own, Lance, we're not going to let anything happen to her."

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Darcy reached out for Lance, finding nothing but an empty bed beside her. With a groan, she rolled over and saw it was almost 10:00. Sitting upright, she was startled and more than a little worried that Sky hadn't wakened her yet. She quickly got out of bed and hurried over to the door, sliding it open.

Sky was on the floor with Chewy flipping through her new elephant book, making up a story to tell him. She was dressed in her swimsuit and her red sneakers.

"Good morning, Sky."

She looked over her shoulder, "Hi Mommy!"

Darcy sat down beside her, "How long have you been up?"

"Since Daddy put Chewy back in my room."

"You've been very good," she kissed the top of her head. "Why don't I go grab a quick shower and then we'll go get something to eat."

"Den we'll go swimmin'?" 

"We'll go swimming tonight, with Daddy."

"But I wanna go with Cady."

"We'll go later, Sky."

Her lower lip trembled, "No!"

"Fine, then we won't go at all."

Sky stood and stomped her feet, "I wanna go with Cady!"

"Don't yell at me, young lady," Darcy warned. "If you want to go swimming, we'll go tonight with Daddy. If you keep behaving like this, then we won't go at all."

"You're mean!" Sky cried.

"But I'm still the Mom."

Sky wailed and threw herself on her bed. Chewy slunk into Lance and Darcy's room to hide under their bed.

Darcy rolled her eyes and stood, "Schuyler Grace, there is no reason to behave like this. Stop crying. When I'm done with my shower we'll get something to eat, then we'll decide what we're doing the rest of today. Do you understand, Schuyler?"

Her response was a louder wail, "I wan' Daddy!"

"Fine, Daddy can deal with you when you're behaving like a spoiled brat," she muttered.

Leaving the door open between their rooms, Darcy pulled a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from her duffle bag. She was too tired, cranky, and stressed to deal with this at the moment.

Sky sat on the bed, wiping at the tears racing down her cheeks with the backs of her hands and thinking about how mean her mother was. It just wasn't fair that Cady and the twins got to do whatever they wanted and she had to stay in her room. It wasn't fair! She slammed her small fist on the bed and let out another sob. Then something caught her eye. A green button.

Sliding off the bed, Sky peeked in her parent's room. The bathroom door was open just a crack and she could hear the water running. Mommy might be mad, but she was wrong and Cady was waiting for her. Walking on tiptoe, Sky reached up and touched the green button beside the door that led out to the hall way. She looked left and then right, seeing a deserted hall.


	7. A Stupid Little Man

Hi all!  
Thanks for the awesome reviews!  You guys really make me feel like this is all worthwhile!

C-Town Chica – Thank you so much for your reviews.  And you're right, would any daughter of Lance's be _that_ well behaved? :-)

Queen Merla – I gotta keep you guessing ;-)  Thanks for your review!

Alas, there is only one chapter left after this one, but I couldn't wait to post this one.  I had a lot of fun with this chapter, I hope you like it!

Enjoy!

Failte

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"Hey, honey!"

Darcy wrapped her hair up in a towel and walked out of the bathroom to see her husband standing in their bedroom, "Hey, what's up?"

"I wanted to fill you in on what Keith told me," Lance said.  "Where's Sky?"

"In her room sulking."

"Why is she sulking?"

"We had a little disagreement about what she was going to do today.  She's rather upset about not being allowed to go swimming with Cady."

"Did you tell her we would take her tonight?"

She nodded, "Yeah, but you're not Cady.  As far as I'm concerned, we won't go at all, she is behaving horribly."

Lance smirked.  He crossed to the door and peeked into Sky's room.  His heart stopped when he saw it was empty.  "Sky?"

No answer.

"Schuyler, answer me, now," he demanded, walking into the room and checking the closet.

"What is it?"  Darcy asked, entering the room, rubbing her hair with the towel.

"She's not in here," Lance got on his hands and knees and looked under the bed.  "Where's the dog?"

"Last I saw he was hiding under our bed to get away from her screaming," Darcy told him.  "Lance, did you open the door?"

He lifted his head and looked from her to the open door and back again, "Didn't you lock it?"

"I thought you did," her voice rose.

"Alright," he stood and wiped his damp palms on his pants.  "It's alright, she's here somewhere."  He unclipped his communicator and dialed up Keith.  "Keith, I need you to lockdown the castle."

"What is it, Lance?"

"Sky's not in her room, we don't know where she is."

Keith nodded to Koran and told him to put the castle into lockdown, "No one could have gotten into the castle without our knowing."

"Yeah, but she could have gotten out," Lance replied.

Darcy was wringing her hands and taking deep breaths to calm herself, "Chewy!"

The dog stuck his head out from under their bed.

"Damn dog!"  She cried.  "You're supposed to stick with her!"

"Darcy," Lance laid a hand on her shoulder, "Let's go find her, we'll start down by the lake.  Don't panic, you need to keep a clear mind."

She nodded, following him as he broke into a run down the hall.  They passed the rest of the Force who Keith had called in for a search.  Guards were patrolling the halls and checking rooms. 

Lance threw open the doors and raced toward the lake.  Cady, Declan, and Gideon were all splashing around in shallow water while Allura sat at the edge of the lake with Tess, letting the baby sit with her feet in the water.  Nanny was sitting on the shore watching all the action in front of her.

"Allura!"  Darcy shouted.

The Queen looked up and smiled, but her expression quickly changed when she saw the look of fear on her friend's face.  "What is it?"

"Have you seen Sky?"

"No, we were waiting for her, but we haven't seen her, why?"

"I went in to take a shower, she was alone for maybe ten minutes," Darcy's voice shook as she explained.  "She's gone now!  The door to her room was open and she's gone!"

"Okay, calm down," Allura settled the baby on her hip and took Darcy's arm.  "She can't have gotten far, we'll find her."

"Keith has the castle in lockdown," Lance told her.  "We're searching it from top to bottom, she should still be in the castle."

Allura called to her children over her shoulder, "Cady!  Declan! Gideon!  Out of the water now!  Come on, we have to go in!"

All three children groaned and griped as they stomped back onto the shore.  Allura gave the baby to Nanny and asked her to take the children inside, promising to come find them later.

She turned to her friends, "Let's go to Castle Control, we'll see what they've found."

"I'm going to help with the search," Lance said.  "Contact me on my communicator if you find her."

Darcy felt her heart skip at his use of the word _if_ instead of _when_.  "Lance."

He turned and gave her a quick kiss, "It'll be alright, babe, this is not your fault, we'll get her back."

She nodded and bit her lip, watching him run off.

Allura slipped her arm through Darcy's, "She's probably with Becca."

"I yelled at her, Allura," Darcy whispered.  "She wanted to go swimming with Cady, but Lance didn't want us out of the castle without him.  She called me mean and I told her that if she didn't behave we wouldn't go swimming at all."

"This isn't your fault, Darcy, she's a little girl and she's going to misbehave and throw tantrums, Cady does it all the time."

"But what if something happens to her?  The last thing I said to her was that she was a spoiled brat."

"Stop it, Darcy, you can't think like that.  Nothing will happen to her."

Darcy wiped her eyes with a shaking hand as they walked into Castle Control, "When we find her, I promise to never, ever yell at her again."

Keith looked up, "How're you doing, Darc?"

"Have you found anything?"

He shook his head, "This is a big castle, she's probably hiding in a corner somewhere."

After fifteen minutes, the full castle search had turned up nothing and Darcy was near hysterics.  She paced Castle Control, twisting her hands, her heart racing.  Keith had joined Lance in searching the grounds, leaving Allura and Koran to monitor Castle Control and keep an eye on Darcy.   When the door slid open and Lance walked in, his face pale and his eyes dark, she ran over and grabbed his arms, watching him pleadingly.  Without a word, he pulled her into a tight hug.

"You know where we have to go," he whispered.

She nodded, terrified of what they would find.

They looked up as the monitor in the main console beeped.  Koran opened a connection, "Castle Control."

"Sir," a young private responded.  "We found this in the side of the road near the entrance to the castle grounds."

With her heart in her throat, Darcy crept to the monitor and what she saw had her knees giving out beneath her.  Lance caught her and wrapped his arms around her, looking over her shoulder to see the young man holding up one of Schuyler's little red sneakers.

Lance snatched his keys from his pocket and turned toward the door, Darcy at his heels.

"Lance!"  Allura followed him.  "Wait for Keith, don't go alone."

"He's not going alone," Darcy called back.

"Just wait and take Keith with you."

"It's already been a half hour since Sky was last seen," he said hoarsely.  "I can't wait any longer."

…………………………………………………………

Less than two minutes later, Lance brought their car to a skidding halt right in front of the gates to the circus.  They noticed that half the tents were taken down and large trunks were being loaded and taken to carrier ships.

"I'm sorry," a clown greeted them at the gates.  "Due to circumstances beyond our control, Muskerry Brothers Circus had to close early, but we do hope to be back on Arus soon."

"Outta my way," Lance snarled.

"I'm sorry, we're closed," the clown said more sternly.

He leaned into the painted face and whispered menacingly, "I will take you down with one strike."

Two men, both built like Hunk only angrier, appeared behind the clown.  Lance sighed angrily, "I don't have time for this shit."

"Please leave, sir," one man said.  "We don't want a scene."

Lance turned and looked at Darcy.  He tilted his head and said, "I have something to take care of, honey."

She nodded.

He turned back to the three men and grabbed the clown, twisting him around and pushing his arm to just the point of breaking it.  Taking the distraction, Darcy ran past the men.  One reached out and tried to grab her, she slipped past his fingers and he was knocked down when Lance pushed the clown into him.

Running past people and trunks, animals and tents, Darcy ran until she came to the small tent behind the main tent, which was almost entirely taken down. 

She ran her hands over the fabric, trying to find an opening, but the flaps were tightly closed and tied.  Her breath caught in her chest when she heard voices within.

"…all parents say that, it's not really true," Pepo said.

"Yes it is!" Sky insisted, stomping her bare foot on the ground.  "My Daddy said I was a mir'cle!"

"A miracle?  No, you are a troublemaker and a brat.  They don't really want you."

Sky glared at this man, her arms were crossed over her chest, she remembered her mother telling her she was a spoiled brat and tears sprang to her eyes.

Pepo smiled indulgingly when he saw the tears, he knew he had just gotten somewhere, "I am going to take you to a wonderful place where there are people who will give you everything you want and will love you very very much."

……………………………………

"What are you doing?"  A deep voice rumbled.

Darcy looked over her shoulder to see a huge man standing behind her.  She ignored him and continued to search for an opening in the tent.  A heavy hand landed on her shoulder, squeezing painfully.  With a grunt of annoyance, Darcy whirled around, grabbed his arm and flipped him to the ground.  The man squeaked as all the air rushed from his lungs when he landed hard on his back.  He made to get up, but she pulled her foot back and slammed it into his crotch, smiling slightly with satisfaction as he grabbed himself and curled up in the fetal position.

Turning back to the tent, she pulled and prodded, trying to find the seam.

……………………………………

"I wanna go home," Sky whined, rubbing her eye with her fist.

"I'm going to take you to a new home," Pepo patted her head.  "A better home."

"I want my Mommy," she sobbed.

"She doesn't want you."

Finally finding the seam, Darcy forced her fingers in and pulled with all her might, tearing open the tent and wrenching apart the ties.  "That's not true!"  She yelled struggling into the tent.

"What the hell?"  Pepo whirled around.

"Mommy!"  Sky screamed.

"Stay back, baby," Darcy commanded. 

Schuyler heeded her mother's warning and hid under the desk as Pepo advanced on Darcy.

"Who do you think you are?"  He hissed.

"I am her mother and you are in a shitload of trouble," she replied.

"You dare to come into my tent and threaten me?"

"You dare to take my daughter?"

"She wandered in here, lost and scared," he said gently.  "I was trying to help her."

"Dat's a lie!"  Sky called from under the desk.

"I know, Sky, stay there," Darcy raised her fists and widened her stance.  "I will gladly kick your ass if you take one more step."

"I'm not afraid of a woman," he said mockingly.

Before he could react, Darcy swung out and caught his jaw, knocking him backward into the table.  "You better be."

"That is assault," he stood and held his hands up.  "I can have you arrested."

"Bring it on," Darcy challenged, anger and disgust giving her new found strength.

He advanced on her but was stopped when her fist met his nose in a sickening crunch.  She was oddly pleased when she felt the bone crack under her knuckles and he stumbled backwards.

"You bitch!"  Pepo gingerly touched his nose and winced.  "You fucking bitch!"

Before he could advance on her, Lance grabbed him by the lapels and lifted him six inches off the ground so they were nose to nose.  "You come to my home, you scare my daughter, then you try to kidnap her, and to top it all off you call my wife a bitch.  You are a stupid, _stupid_ little man."  Lance threw him across the tent, sneering when Pepo landed hard against his trunk.

"It's about time," Darcy muttered, walking around the desk.  
  
"You only had one guy," Lance told her.  "I had to deal with two angry giants and a clown," Lance knelt beside Pepo and pinned him to the ground by his throat.

"Come on, sweetie, its okay," Darcy crouched in front of the desk and held her hand out to her daughter.  "What did you do to them?"

"If you so much as move I will snap your neck you son of a bitch," he hissed at the man on the floor.  "I knocked the clown out and was faster than the other two guys.  Then Keith showed up with the Calvary.  Paton and her men are rounding everyone up for questioning."

Darcy picked Schuyler up, hugging her tightly, "Where are they now?"

"They're giving me five minutes with our friend here.  So, _Pepo_, are you going to tell me what's going on, or am I going to get to hit you again?"

The man moaned as blood flowed down his face and his eyes closed.

Lance looked up at his wife and grinned, "You broke his nose, babe."

"I know, it felt great."

He nodded to Sky, "How're you doing, Shorty?"

She tightened her arms around her mother's neck and her legs around her waist, but she lifted her wet face to her father.  "I wanna go home."

"Yeah," Darcy kissed her wet cheek.  "Let's go home, peanut."

The shredded tent flaps were pulled apart and Keith stepped in, followed by two uniformed officers.  "Time's up, Lance."

"That's all right," Lance stood.  "I want to wait until he's conscious before I beat some answers out of him."

Keith nodded to the two men, "Get him to the hospital and get him patched up.  We'll question him as soon as he's able to talk."

Lance slowly got to his feet, all the fear and anger slowly faded and he suddenly felt tired and weak with relief.  He walked over to his family and ran a hand down Sky's hair, "Are you hurt, sweetie?"

She shook her head before turning her face into her mother's neck, mumbling something.

"What, baby?"  Darcy asked.

With fresh tears running down her cheeks, Sky lifted her head and whispered shamefully, "I'm sorry I'm a bwat."

Letting out a gasping laugh of disbelief, Darcy blinked back the tears in her own eyes and rested her forehead against her daughter's, "You are not a brat, Sky.  We love you very much and nothing will ever change that."

"Come here," Lance lifted Sky into his arms and hugged her.  "Let's go back to the castle and get Chewy, okay?"

Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, she smiled up at her father, "You kicked his butt, Daddy!"

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead, "I think Mommy kicked more butt then I did."

Sky looked at her mom, "Way to go, Mommy."

Lance wrapped an arm around Darcy's shoulders and hugged her to him.  She slid her arms up around him and they sandwiched Sky between them in a tight hug.

Keith walked over, feeling bad about interrupting an obviously personal moment.  He cleared his throat and waited for Lance to lift his head.  "Go, man, get Sky checked out.  We'll fill you all in when we're done with our questioning."

……………………………………………………………………..

Schuyler sat on an examining table in the hospital wing, hugging Mr. Bumbles tightly and watching as her aunt bandaged her mother's hand.  Brightly colored bandages covered scratches she said trees had given her on her arms and legs.  Not that they were actually necessary, the scratches barely broke the skin, but it made the little girl feel better. 

Lance sat down beside her and lifted her onto his lap, "Are you sure you're okay, Sky?  You can tell us if he hurt you."

"My foot hurts a little," she sighed.  "I lost my new red shoe."

"We'll go buy another pair," he promised, lifting her foot to check for any cuts.

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"I don't like da circus."

"Neither do I, baby."

"But I do like elly-fants."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head, "No, Sky, you can't have a pet elephant."

She leaned her head against his chest.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?"  Lance asked gently. 

Darcy hadn't wanted to quiz her so soon, knowing that Sky was so upset.  But he wanted to hear what happened as soon as possible while it was still fresh in her mind.

She shook her head.

"I promise you're not in trouble, Sky, we just want to know what happened," he prodded.

"Lance," Darcy warned.

"I wanted to go swimmin'" Schuyler whispered, afraid to meet her parents' eyes since she knew she had been bad.  "I went ou'side and den…"

"Then what, sweetie?"  He whispered.

"I went out da wrong door and dere was a man," her voice hitched and a tear ran down her face.

"It's okay," Darcy ran her hand down Sky's hair.  "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I don't wanna."

"Here, little Sky," Becca held out a red lollipop.  "You have been very brave, you deserve a lollipop."

Sky took it and smiled, forgetting her tears, "Thanks, Aun' Becca!"

Lance slid off the table, holding his daughter close, "Come on, I think we all need a break.  I know I need to sit down and try to catch my breath."


	8. Closure

Lance watched Sky as she did a somersault in the grass.  She landed on her backside and giggled.  Cady tried to do a cartwheel and ended up in a heap beside her friend, screaming when Declan fell on top of her as Gideon tackled him.

"Hey!"  Keith called out.  "Let's not break each other!"

The gang had all congregated at Lance and Darcy's house since Sky kept telling them she just wanted to go home.  Allura and Darcy sat on the back stoop with Becca sitting on the ground beside them, watching as the kids played and Tess babbled to herself in Sky's old playpen.  Keith, Hunk, and Pidge were standing off to the side of the women, talking and throwing a ball for Chewy to fetch. 

They were waiting for Paton to call.  She had told them that they were not allowed to sit in on the questioning and that they were all, well, just Lance really, were driving her nuts hanging around the station or calling every few minutes.  Finally, the chief of police had convinced them to go and she would contact them the second she had any information she could give them.

"Hey."

Lance looked up at his wife as she stood over him, "Hey."

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

Darcy slid her fingers through the woven holes of the hammock he was stretched out on and started it swaying gently.  "You're being rude to our guests."

He shrugged, "They know me, its nothing personal."

"I was thinking we could light up the grill, the kids are getting hungry."

"Alright," Lance sat up and swung his legs over the side of the hammock.  "What do we have?"

"We have hot dogs and I can make hamburgers."

He checked his watch, five hours had passed since Paton had kicked him out of the station.  She had to know something by now.

"She'll call us when she can," Darcy said, taking his hands and pulling him to his feet.  "Lying there fuming is not going make her call any faster."

Sliding his arm around her shoulders, they walked back to the house, "It seems like it all happened days ago rather than this morning."

"They have a lot to go through, Lance.  There are people to question, papers to go through and the computers to search.  We might not hear anything for another day."

"She promised to tell me something tonight," he stopped when he saw Sky talking animatedly to the three Whitaker kids and mimicking a fight, throwing punches. "What is she doing?"

Darcy furrowed her brow, "I don't know.  Schuyler, what are you doing?"

The little girl whirled around and grinned at her parents, yelling across the yard, "I'm tellin' 'em about you kickin' da bad guy's butt!"

Darcy opened her mouth to reprimand her daughter but was stopped when Lance clapped his hand over her mouth and whispered in her ear, "We'll talk to her later.  Let her deal with this in whatever way makes her more comfortable, at least now she knows for sure that she's safe when we're around."

She nodded and addressed their friends, "Lance is going to fire up the grill and we're going to have ourselves a little barbeque."

Allura pushed herself to her feet, "What can I do to help?"

"We can start getting the food together while the men stand around the grill and grunt."

"We don't grunt," Lance muttered as he crossed to the grill and pulled the cover off.  "We have deep, intellectual conversations about burger thickness and whether or not it's going to rain."

Becca stood and picked Tess up out of the playpen as she started to fuss, "Someone needs to be changed."

Keith clapped Pidge on the shoulder, "So, you guys give any thought to having a little one?"

The younger man paled visibly, but kept his composure, "I'm thinking we should get married first."

"Keith, stop it," Allura called over her shoulder.

Darcy started pulling ground meat out of the refrigeration unit and crossed to the cupboard for spices.  Allura took the baby from Becca and carried her into the other room to change her. 

Noticing how quiet her sister was being, Becca walked over and leaned against the counter, "How're you holding up?"

"All right, considering."

"And Lance?"

"He's ready to explode."

Becca smirked and went to wash her hands so she could help form the burger patties, "Sky seems to be doing well."

"Yeah, but it'll take some time before we know if there are any lingering effects."

"She's strong, she'll be fine," Becca dried her hands and turned to see her sister standing over the table, her head down and her bandaged hand pressed against her forehead.  "Oh, Darc, it's all right, she's fine."

Darcy hiccupped, feeling silly as tears raced down her face, "I…I thought I was h-handling this well.  Sh-she's just a l-little girl and th-they almost took her from us."

Becca pulled her into a tight hug, letting her big sister cry into her shoulder. 

The back screen door squeaked open and slammed shut.  The two women broke apart, Darcy trying to hide her tears, turned around and slammed into the comfort of another person.  Lance wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.  "It's all right, baby, it's all right."

With his arm still around her, Lance led her to the office, shutting the door behind them.  They stood in the quiet solitude of the dimly lit room while she cried with relief and exhaustion.  Lance rubbed her back and whispered calming words.  Her tears dried and they listened to the childhood noises of laughter and running outside as their daughter, safe and sound, played with her friends.

"Okay?"  Lance whispered.

She nodded, "We should get back out there."

"There's no hurry, sweetheart."

"What did you need?"  Darcy asked as she stepped slowly out of his embrace.

"Hm?"

"Why did you come inside, what did you need?"

"You," he brought his hand up and tilted her chin back so he could look into her swollen eyes.  "I needed to see you, I knew something was wrong."

Standing on her toes, she skimmed her lips over his, "I love you, so much, Lance."

"I love you, too," he pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I'm going to run upstairs and freshen up, I'll be outside in a few minutes."

He grinned at her, "The party won't start until you get out there."

Ten minutes later, Darcy stepped out onto the back stoop to see everything was normal.  The kids were running around, chasing Chewy.  Lance was manning the grill, a soda in hand, talking to Keith and Pidge.  Hunk was standing off to the side talking on his cell phone while Allura and Becca set the table.

"Mommy!"  Sky caught sight of Darcy and turned in mid-run to launch herself at her mother.

"Sky!"  Darcy crouched down and caught the girl.  "Are you having fun?"

Sky nodded, "Daddy said I could have two hot dogs all by myself."

"That's a lot of hot dog for a little girl."

"I'm really, really, really hungry," she said dramatically.  "My tummy's been talkin'."

Darcy tickled her stomach, "You have a rumbly in your tumbly?"

"Just like Pooh!"

"I love you," Darcy said, covering her daughter's face with kisses until Sky laughed and pushed her mother away.

"Stop it, Mommy!"

"I can't," Darcy teased making kissing noises.

Sky wiggled out of her arms and ran to hide behind her father's legs.

"All right," Hunk snapped his cell phone shut.  "Paton is going to be over in about twenty minutes with the preliminary report.  And she'll take a burger, medium-well."

Lance paused, one hand on Sky's head, the other holding the spatula in mid air after flipping a burger.  They were going to find out what had happened.

"Ow, Daddy," Sky grabbed his wrist and tried to lift his hand.

He looked down, not realizing he had gripped her hair, accidentally pulling it.  "Sorry, Shorty, I didn't mean to pull your hair." 

Becca, Allura, and Pidge started carrying condiments and plates out to the table while Darcy threw together a salad and some plain buttered noodles, digging out jars of pickles and olives.  She made a mental note to keep the kitchen better stocked for last minute barbeques during the summer.  Hunk and Keith set up the children's table under the big oak tree that had one end of the hammock tied to it.

"No, Schuyler," Lance said as he piled the burgers and hot dogs on a platter.  "I am not making Chewy a hot dog, he has his own food in the house."

"But Daddy…"

"No, it's not good for dogs to eat hot dogs, it makes them cannibals."

"Lance," Darcy warned as she carried out a plate of pickles, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Wha's a cannabowl?" Sky asked.

"Cannibal," her father corrected.  "If you can't pronounce it, I can't tell you what it is."

"Daaaddddyyyy!"

"Sky, come help me," Becca called.  "I need you to carry the mustard."

She skipped over to help her aunt as Darcy walked over to take the platter from her husband.  "Stop screwing with our daughter's mind."

"What good is having a kid if you can't mess with them?"  He asked, stealing a quick kiss.

They had all just sat down at their tables when Paton arrived.  The four kids sat around a child-sized table chattering and slipping food to Chewy, not noticing the change in the adults as she rounded the corner into the backyard.  Hunk jumped to his feet and greeted his wife with a quick hug and a kiss, noticing how tired she looked.

"Paton, have a seat," Lance stood quickly.  "Can I get you something to drink?  Soda, beer, juice?"

She smiled weakly and sat down between Pidge and Hunk, setting a folder down on the table in front of her, "I'm fine, Lance, sit down and we'll get right to it."

The seven adults leaned in and listened as Paton lowered her voice and started to fill them in.  "This is what we've found out so far.  This is the preliminary report as we still have men searching the circus computers and records, but I know you all have been waiting for some news.  All we have to go on right now is what we've gotten from interviews."

Lance nodded, reaching under the table to lace his fingers with Darcy's.

"The fingerprints on Sky's window matched those of Hinri Kodej," Paton continued.  "A clown hired by the circus just five months ago.  His prints were not on record, we just matched them this afternoon when we took everyone's fingerprints."  She paused and pulled two photos out of the folder, one of a clown and one of a man.  "This is him with his make-up on and without.  Does he look familiar?"

Darcy nodded, "He was at the castle, Sky said he was the one outside her window."

"He is also young, stupid and caved when we separated him from Calbert Kandell, or as you know him, Pepo.  Apparently Hinri thought he was just getting a job as a clown, but Calbert soon noticed how stupid and easy to manipulate he was and he became his right hand man.  This was his first job and he obviously botched it up. 

"Muskerry Brothers Circus was a front for an illegal adoption ring," she nodded to Pidge.  "You were right on that.  It had all started with the Kandell Family Circus.  When that circus was shut down, Calbert thought he was smart enough to succeed where his parents failed.  So he took his mother's maiden name, Muskerry, and started up a new circus with a couple of old associates and a lot of new members."

Paton paused to take a sip of Hunk's soda, "They specialized in 'Designer Adoptions', a couple could specify what they were looking for and, for a large amount of money, they would get their special order kid.  We found this in with Calbert's paperwork."  She opened the folder and slid a piece of paper across to Lance and Darcy.

**Adoption Order Form:**

                        **Species:          **Human

                        **Race:**              Caucasian

                        **Sex:                 **Female

                        **Age:**                3-4 years of age

                        **Hair:               **Brunette/Dark Brown

                        **Eyes:               **Brown

                        **Personality:**    Outgoing, friendly, precocious

Beneath the order form, was a picture of a little dark haired girl, beside it was taped a copy of the picture of Schuyler Keith had taken from Pepo's tent.  The resemblance between the two girls was startling.

"A wealthy couple on Planet Whident lost their three year old daughter in an accident last year, that's her picture there.  The husband found out about 'Designer Adoptions' and decided to see if he could find a little girl to replace their daughter, hoping to raise his wife's spirits," Paton explained.

Darcy shivered, "He was just going to replace their daughter with a kidnapped child?"

Paton shook her head, "We're looking into it now, we don't know for sure if the families paying for the adoptions knew if they were illegal.  They may very well have thought it was a legitimate business, especially if this was done through an agency and they knew nothing about the circus.  As it was, a circus is the perfect front.  They travel all over the universes and children love them and generally trust the people that work there.  No one ever suspected the circus.  Now a majority of the performers claim ignorance, saying they knew nothing about any kidnappings.  Hinri gave us a list of people he knew for sure were involved and those people have been placed into custody.

"There were certain rules they had to follow.  First and foremost, none of the royal children were to be taken, even if they matched the description perfectly, a missing prince or princess would draw too much attention.  Apparently they didn't know you were a member of the Voltron Force, Lance, or that you were such close friends with the royal family.  Normally, they are able to get the child and leave quietly.  By the time the child is being searched for, they are in another galaxy delivering the child."

Darcy groaned quietly, "This is awful.  Do you have any idea how many children have been taken?"

"They believe the Kandell Family circus took nearly two hundred children over the years.  Muskerry Brothers is still relatively young, so we're hoping very few were taken and we're going to work with the Intergalactic Policing Agency to reunite the children with their parents."

"How did they get Sky?"  Lance asked.

Paton turned to him, "Hinri told me that he was given instructions to stick with Sky and grab her at the first opportunity.  Apparently, the man on Whident offered up to three million dollars for a child that met their requirements and Pepo wanted the money.  Hinri said he saw Sky run out a door alone, knowing she was afraid of clowns, he didn't wear the makeup.  He called to her and she went to him."

Lance sighed, "She knows better than to talk to strangers."

"She was never shy," Darcy said.  "She's used to people talking to her because of who we are and she's never had a bad experience with strangers wanting to say hi to her just because she's Lance Collier's daughter."

Paton continued, "He said she put up a fight, kicking and biting his hand when he covered her mouth with it, but he couldn't let her go."

"That explains the scratches on her arms and legs," Becca murmured.

"For him this wasn't about money, Calbert had threatened his life.  He was terrified."

"My heart breaks for him," Lance said sarcastically.

"How did he get outside Sky's window?"  Darcy asked.

"We haven't got a definite answer for that yet, but we have a good idea. We confiscated four jet packs."

"Jet packs?"  Keith asked.

She nodded, "They were good ones, could lift up to 250 pounds forty feet into the air and travel a maximum of fifteen miles an hour."

"Which would explain how he got away so fast," Lance mumbled.

"What are you going to do now?"  Allura asked the chief of police.

"Calbert Kandell is in custody and will be charged with kidnapping and other charges we are drawing up.  Hinri is going to get a lighter sentence for turning in evidence and we're still trying to separate the truth from the lies and the guilty from the innocent.  Like I said, this is a preliminary report, we have days of work ahead of us before we can hand in an official report."

"But they're going to stay in your custody?" Darcy asked.

Paton nodded, "Until we hand them over to the Intergalactic Policing Organization so they can check for charges filed on other planets.  They are no longer a threat to you or Sky, I promise you that.  We can even place officers here if you would feel better."

"Let me ask you this," Lance said.  "I am in no way doubting you or your men, because this question also applies to the guards on the castle grounds.  But how was he able to get Sky off castle grounds and to Pepo, uh, Calbert's tent without any guards or officers seeing?"

"As far as we can figure, Calbert figured out our patrols and found a way through the woods.  As for the guards at the castle, I don't know.  But I can tell you this, we were able to get our hands on Hinri's file.  He was a member of a Special Forces team on Planet Klasert for two years before he was dishonorably discharged a year and a half ago."

"What for?"  Keith asked.

Paton shook her head, "We don't know, the files are sealed and he wouldn't elaborate."

"So he is trained to be fast and quiet and to sneak into places he isn't supposed to be," Hunk mumbled.

"Exactly," Paton said.  "I can only apologize on behalf of my men."

Darcy smiled softly, "We know they were doing their best."

With a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, Paton sat back and said, "There is, however, another issue we have to address."

"What is it?"  Keith asked.

"It seems, that Calbert Kandell wants to press charges against Lance and Darcy for breaking and entering and battery and assault."

"You've got to be kidding me," Pidge muttered.

"And," she continued, still trying to hide a smile.  "He wants you to pay for his tent that you tore up getting in to."

Lance and Darcy looked at each other, he shrugged and turned back to Paton, "What do we do?"

"Don't worry, those charges won't hold up in any court, especially after he's charged.  I'm sure they'll be dismissed."  Paton closed the folder.  "That is all I have right now, I will fill you in as we gather more info."

"Thank you, Paton, for everything," Darcy told her.  "We really appreciate your help."

"Anything I can do.  I was serious about posting officers here if it would make you feel better."

Lance nodded, "Thanks, but I think we'll be all right."

"Eat up," Darcy smiled at her friends.  "We have ice cream for dessert."

………………………………………………………………………..

Darcy looked out the window as she closed the door of the dishwasher and turned the dial, starting the cycle.  The sun was setting and their friends had gone home.  It had been the longest day of her life and she couldn't wait for it to end.  Exhaustion was making her sluggish and she left most of the mess to deal with in the morning. 

Opening the screen door, she stepped out into the comfortable night air, smelling the grass, hearing the insects sing, watching the firebugs flash around in front of her.  But it was to the oversized hammock Lance had strung up between the two largest trees in their yard that she went to.  It had been a housewarming gift from Lance's father, who told them that every house should have a hammock to lie in on lazy summer afternoons and cool evenings.

Lance was swaying gently on the hammock.  Schuyler was lying on her stomach on top of him, her head on his chest, sound asleep as Lance gently stroked her back.

"Maybe we should tuck her in for the night," Darcy whispered.

He shifted his gaze to her, "It's still early."

"It's been a long day, Lance."

"I'm not ready to let her go yet," he admitted quietly.

Darcy ran her hand over the little girl's silky, dark hair and sighed, "I know."

"There's plenty of room," Lance suggested, winking at her.

"I know how much room there is," she replied haughtily, even as her cheeks reddened at the memory of the night they had christened the hammock.

He held his hand out to her, "Come here."

With some awkward maneuvering and some major swinging of the hammock, Darcy settled in beside Lance, resting her head on his shoulder and stroking her daughter's head.  Lance shifted until he could bring his arm around his wife and hold her to him.

"You're swingin' too hard, Daddy," Sky mumbled.

"It's not me, Shorty."

Sky turned her head, "Hi, Mommy."

"Hi baby, how're you doing?"

"'Kay.  Can we sleep ou' here all night?"

Darcy smiled at her, "No, but we can stay a while longer."

Sky yawned and nodded, her eyes drifting closed.

Lance kissed Darcy's forehead, letting his lips linger.  She slid her hand down until it bumped into his and linked her fingers with his, their joined hands resting on Sky's back as she slept.  The moons rose and the stars popped out against the deep velvety blue of the sky.  And the three of them lied there, swaying gently.

##############################################################################################################

**AN:**  Okay, here is the end of yet another story.  I am toying around with a couple of ideas there were given to me in reviews to my story "A Long Awaited Love Story".  But, alas, work and life has been crushing down on my lately, so I don't know when I'll get to post my next story.

Thank you all for your reviews.  I loved writing this story, and to be honest, I think it is my favorite one so far.

C-Town Chica – It's funny that you asked me about the comics because I hadn't bought any this past year, planning to wait until the second trade paperback came out.  Well, last week, I decided I couldn't wait anymore, so last week I ordered the last six issues from Devil Due.  I got them the same day I got your review.  So now that I am all caught up, allow me to say that I loved them!  I really like how they have captured the characters, although I am very disappointed in Sven, there had better be some magic involved there.  And I did like the interaction between Keith and Allura, it is very close to how I imagined them in my stories, so much so, it kind of scared me :-)  I would, however, like to see more of how their relationship has grown.  Four months have passed and Allura said she knew what Keith was thinking and feeling, I would have liked to have seen how they grew as friends.  Thanks for your awesome reviews!

Red Lion2, MustangAce, Craze, Black Night, Dee, Queen Merla, Starlette Rose, and everyone else – Thank you so much!  You guys rock!  And I really do appreciate your reviews and the time and effort you put into them!

Until next time!

Failte


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